UNIVERSITY  Or  «.-. 

LIBRARY 

ATURBANA-CHAMF* 
ILL  HIST.  SURVEY 


THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 


DEDICATED  TO  THE  STRIKERS 
AND  THEIR  FRIENDS  WHO  PRO- 
TESTED WHEN  THE  PRINCIPLES 
OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR  WERE 
SURRENDERED  BY  LABOR  LEAD- 
ERS TO  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL 
AND  HARRIMAN  RAILROADS  IN 
THE  STRIKE  OF  1911  AND  1915,  IN- 
CLUSIVE. 

Sincerely, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 
Chicago, 
February,  1918. 


THE 

LIZARD'S  TRAIL 


A  Story  from  the  Illinois  Central 

and  Harriman  Lines  Strike  of 

1911   to  1915  Inclusive 


BY 

CARL  E.  PERSON 


53 


Published  by 

THE  LAKE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
(Not  Inc.) 

CHICAGO 


Copyright  1918 
By  CABL  E.  PERSON 


Published  February,  1918 


FOREWORD 

- 

ALL  the  strikes  that  played  the  circuit  of  industrial 
unrest,  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike 
took  its  place  in  history  by  itself.    It  was  different  than 
I  other  strikes  for  it  played  the  crisis  with  thirty-eight  thousand 
^  men  on  the  industrial  stage  for  forty-five  continual  months  at 
an  estimated  expense  to  the  railroad  companies  of  three  hundred 
and  fifteen  million  dollars. 

PSome  of  the  Labor  Leaders  who  commanded  the  men  to  strike 
. 
stood  in  the  pulpits  and  cried  "let  there  be  war  and  war  to  the 

•finish"  with  this  pledged  their  last  dollar,  then  turned  trai- 
tors to  those  they  commanded  to  strike  by  returning  to  the 
same  pulpits  where  they  had  sung  the  song  of  Victory  with  no 
Compromise,  preaching  peace  at  any  price.  Confronted  with 
these  copperheads  from  the  very  ranks  of  leadership  the  strike 
still  played  its  drama  for  forty-five  continual  months. 

No  other  strike  has  played  the  industrial  circuit  for  this 

\  length  of  time.    With  this  large  army  of  men,  under  such  great 

j  expense  to  those  who  claim  the  ownership  of  the  factory  altars, 

^  while  deserted  by  the  labor  leaders  who  cried  in  the  storm  that 

I  they  were  themselves  responsible  for. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  convey  some  of  the  suppressed 
i  information  of  the  strike  to  the  students  of  the  labor  movement, 
s  and  those  who  were  swindled  by  the  traitors  during  the  strike. 
»  Some  of  this  information  was  brought  to  the  surface  in  the  his- 
^  toric  convention  of  the  Railway  Department  at  Kansas  City, 
u  Mo.,  in  1916.  There  it  photographed  so  shocking  that  behind 
^  the  closed  doors  of  the  convention  it  was  ordered  buried  with 
•<,  the  resolutions  that  the  rank  and  file  back  home,  who  paid  the 
"^  price,  were  too  ignorant  to  understand  it.  After  the  suppres- 
::'.  sion  of  the  minutes  at  the  Kansas  City  convention,  the  only  re- 
>-<  maining  method  by  which  this  suppressed  information  could 

5 


6  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

reach  those  who  desired  to  have  it,  was  through  the  publication 
of  this  book. 

In  writing  this  story  I  have  frequently  added  the  original 
correspondence.  This  with  the  desire  of  making  the  point  clear 
to  the  reader  and  to  back  my  statements  up  with  undeniable 
facts.  Many  of  the  letters  used  as  evidence  have  contained  per- 
sonal and  confidential  matter  not  relating  to  the  subject  in  ques- 
tion. All  such  matter  has  been  omitted  from  the  correspondence 
used  in  this  book. 

This  book  is  not  written  to  satisfy  the  personal  feelings  of 
the  writer,  but  to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  a  large  number  of  those 
who  were  swindled  and  deserted  by  the  Labor  Leaders  during 
the  strike.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  element  who  profits  by 
calling  and  recalling  strikes  for  financial  considerations  will 
seriously  object  to  the  information  contained  in  The  Lizard's 
Trail.  Should  they  not,  the  writer  would  be  very  much  disap- 
pointed, for  one  of  the  main  reasons  for  its  publication  is  to 
make  their  operations  in  the  future  more  difficult. 

The  honest  labor  leader  is  a  necessity  to  the  progress  and 
welfare  of  the  labor  movement.  Just  as  honest  leadership  is 
essential  to  the  welfare  of  any  other  movement.  This  book  is 
not  published  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  the  standing  of  the 
honest  labor  leader,  but  for  the  purpose  of  helping  to  ferret  out 
of  the  labor  movement  the  Labor  Traitor  who  sometimes  oper- 
ates under  the  cloak  of  authority  in  an  official  capacity  of  the 
labor  movement.  Those  who  so  frequently  came  to  the  surface 
during  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines. 

Do  not  commence  reading  this  book  with  the  expectation  of 
reading  a  book  written  and  prepared  in  compliance  with  the  art 
of  perfect  English.  This  will  be  a  sad  disappointment  to  you. 
This  book  is  not  written  to  please  the  critics  of  ancient  arts  or 
those  who  have  mastered  the  science  of  logic.  It  is  written  in 
the  language  of  the  workshop  for  those  who  work.  Written 
for  them  that  they  might  have  additional  information  to  fortify 
themselves  with  as  they  stand  in  the  trenches,  in  the  War  of  the 
Classes,  making  the  world  safe  for  democracy. 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 

The  development  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  Strike  and  some  of  the  forces  at  work  until  July 
nineteen  twelve. 

PAGE 

The  Origin  of  the  Federation , 9 

Officers'  Demanding  the  Men  to  Strike 16 

The  Calling  of  the  Strike 28 

Traitors  Coming  to  the  Surface 33 

The  Demand  for  a  Convention 39 

The  General  Strike  Vote 45 

PART  TWO 

Indisputable  evidence  showing  the  attitude  of  certain 
Grand  Lodge  officers  and  organizers  relative  to  the  men 
on  strike  and  the  Principles  of  Federation. 

The  Palmy  Days  of  Jack  Buckalew 65 

The  New  Cabinet's  Declaration  of  War 72 

The  Break  at  Water  Valley 90 

Strikers'  Funds  Confiscated 95 

Johnston  Offers  to  Compromise 99 

The    Federation    Reorganized 102 

Washington  in  Great  Excitement 107 

The  Coming  Back  of  the  Federation 121 

Pete  Conlon  Mad  with  Power 123 

Jack  Buckalew  Caught  in  the  Crisis 131 

McCreery  Turns  Traitor  for  the  Promise  of  a  Job 139 

Buckalew's  Dying  Effort  for  Revenge 146 

PART  THREE 

The  declaration  of  war  on  the  Illinois  Central  system 
federation  by  the  Grand  Lodge  presidents,  and  the  Federa- 
tion's fight  for  existence. 

Federations   Appeal  for   Co-operation 163 

The   Chicago   Frame-Up 174 

7 


8  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

PAGE 

The  Grand  Lodge  Injunction 179 

Wharton  and  Scott  New  Disciples 189 

Wharton  Declares  War  on  Johnston 196 

General  Strike   Agitation 205 

The  Coming  Back  of  the  District 213 

The  Awakening  of  Omaha  Sam 228 

PART  FOUR 

Grand  Lodge  officers  and  their  emissaries  at  work  in 
various  channels  against  the  federation,  and  eventually  de- 
clare the  strike  off  against  the  wishes  of  the  men  involved. 

Forces  Leading  to  the  U.  S.  Investigation 239 

The  1914  Convention  of  the  Railway  Department 248 

A  St.  Louis  Conference  with  Mr.  Wharton 261 

The  Grand  Lodge  President's  Unsuccessful  Attempt 267 

Another  War  Declared  on  the  Strike  Bulletin 309 

The  Augusta  Resolution 328 

The  Strike  Declared  Off 333 

The  New  Autumn  Drive 367 

PART  FIVE 

The  secret  session  of  Jim  Kline's  trial  during  the  1916 
convention  of  the  Railway  Department  at  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
and  the  suppression  of  the  minutes. 

Jim  Kline's  Trial  at  Kansas  City 875 

PART  SIX 

Johnston  takes  revenge  by  excommunicating  Carl  Person 
from  the  International  Association  of  Machinists  without  a 
trial. 

Excommunicated  Without  a  Trial 418 

PART  SEVEN 

Conclusion 

The  Policy  of  Federation  Defended 443 

Summary    460 


PART  I 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ILLINOIS 

CENTRAL  AND  HARRIMAN  LINES 

STRIKE,   AND    SOME    OF    THE 

FORCES  AT  WORK  UNTIL 

JULY,  NINETEEN- 

TWELVE. 

THE  ORIGIN  or  THE  FEDERATION 

ONE  of  the  history-making  events  in  the  first  admin- 
istration of  Woodrow  Wilson  as  President  of  the 
United  States  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
unique  in  the  annals  of  both  capital  and  labor.  It  was  known 
as  the  United  States  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations  and 
was  made  up  of  individuals  experienced  in  both  phases  of  the 
industrial  life  of  the  nation.  Numerous  differences  between 
employers  and  employees  were  made  subjects  of  investigation 
previous  to  September,  1915.  This  volume  is  particularly 
interested  in  but  one  of  these. 

On  the  seventh  of  that  month  the  commission  began  a 
searching  inquiry  into  the  causes  as  well  as  the  results  of  the 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  In  the 
final  report  of  the  Commission,  Volume  10,  pages  9699  to 
10066,  inclusive,  some  interesting  admissions  concerning  the 
strike  are  printed. 

Julius  Kruttschnitt,  President  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  was 
one  of  the  men  to  give  valuable  testimony;  so  was  C.  H. 
Markham,  President  of  the  Illinois  Central.  Both  these  dis- 
tinguished railroad  men  agreed  upon  one  point.  They  de- 
clared unreservedly  that  the  chief  objection  they  had  to  a  well- 

9 


10  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

organized  Employees'  System  Federation  was  that  it  might 
become  too  powerful.  There  was  danger,  said  both  the  gentle- 
men— said  it  quite  frankly  and  unaffectedly — that  such  organi- 
zation might  force  the  railroads  to  grant  such  concessions  as 
the  Federation  asked.  "Undoubtedly,"  said  the  gentlemen,  "a 
federation  of  employees  is  in  a  much  better  position  to  force 
issues  than  is  an  individual  craft." 

"And  therefore,"  substantially  stated  Mr.  Julius  Krutt- 
schnitt,  "railroads  do  not  favor  the  consolidation  of  shop  em- 
ployees for  any  purpose  whatsoever." 

What  was  true  at  the  time  of  the  hearing  by  the  U.  S. 
Commission  was  equally  true  during  1911,  when  the  strike  of 
the  38,000  employees  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  was  in  progress.  Most  consistently  both  these  gentlemen 
refused  to  confer  with  any  and  all  committees  representing 
the  striking  employees. 

The  Illinois  Central  favored  the  idea  of  federation  of  shop 
employees,  when  engaged  in  work  that  was  in  the  interest  of 
the  railroad  company.  This  company  first  organized  their 
shop  employees  into  a  federation  in  1907  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Machinist  Business  Agent  H.  J.  Molloy  bef orethe 
commission  (page  9846  of  report). 

Several  conventions  were  held  for  the  purpose  of  develop- 
ing a  sentiment  among  their  employees  not  to  cash*  their  pay 
checks  during  the  panic  of  1907.  Again  in  1910  the  Illinois 
Central  sent  their  federated  committee  to  storm  the  state  legis- 
lature, and  call  on  Governor  Deneen  requesting  him  to  allow 
an  increase  in  freight  rates  to  the  railroads  operating  in 
Illinois. 

A  city  ordinance  was  being  considered  by  the  City  Council 
of  Chicago  compelling  the  Illinois  Central  to  electrify  its  lines 
within  the  city  limits.  Again  the  federated  committee  was 
sent  down  to  storm  the  City  Hall  in  behalf  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral. At  the  request  of  the  railroad  officials,  a  committee  rep- 
resenting the  Federation  of  Shop  Employees  was  elected  on  the 
hospital  boards  at  various  terminals  of  the  Illinois  Central. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERATION  11 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Markham  before  the  commission  corroborated 
Business  Agent  Molloy's  statement  concerning  the  Federation 
as  organized  by  his  company. 

The  Illinois  Central  taught  their  men  that  through  a  fed- 
erated effort  greater  results  could  be  accomplished.  Inasmuch 
as  the  individual  crafts  had  been  unsuccessful  in  procuring  any 
results  in  relation  to  the  demands  they  were  making  for  an 
increase  in  wages  and  changes  in  working  conditions,  they 
adopted  the  company's  idea  of  federation.  Organization  .was 
fairly  begun  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  May  1,  1911. 

Business  Agent  J.  G.  Taylor,  representing  the  Machin- 
ists on  the  Pacific  system  of  the  Harriman  Lines  before  the 
Commission,  states  on  page  9874  of  the  U.  S.  Industrial 
Report : 

"When  the  tinners  asked  for  a  conference  in  1909  they  were  refused; 
had  a  strike  and  lost.  In  1910  the  machinists  on  the  Pacific  system  asked 
for  a  conference,  and  were  refused.  The  boilermakers  asked  for  the  same 
thing  and  then  the  demand  for  the  System  Federation  became  general." 

Therefore,  we  find  that  the  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  could  get  nothing  through  craft  organization. 
Had  they  desired  "to  press  their  demands"  they  could  do 
nothing  but  strike.  Realizing  this,  they  made  up  their  minds 
that  if  it  was  necessary  to  strike,  a  federated  effort  in  striking 
would  give  them  the  best  results. 

Mr.  diaries  H.  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  charged 
his  men  with  failure  to  give  his  company  the  thirty  days'  notice 
in  requesting  a  conference  as  stipulated  in  the  then  existing 
different  craft  agreements.  However,  it  was  fully  understood 
that  Mr.  Markham  only  used  the  thirty-day  clause  as  an  excuse 
for  not  granting  his  men  a  conference.  In  a  statement  before 
the  Commission,  Vol.  10,  page  9699,  Mr.  Markham  states 
that  "-we  had  made  up  our  minds  that  the  Federation  had  to 
be  fought  regardless  of  cost."  Mr.  Markham's  company, 
however,  was  notified  through  the  officers  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Federation  shortly  after  May  1,  1911,  when  it  was  organ- 
ized at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  that  a  committee  representing  all  of 


12  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  shop  crafts  desired  a  conference  with  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company.  This  notice  was  served  on  the  company 
some  five  months  prior  to  the  calling  of  the  strike  through 
the  Federation  officers,  J.  F.  McCreery,  President,  and  W.  E. 
Bowen,  Secretary. 

The  Harriman  Lines  Federation  was  organized  in  Salt 
Lake  City  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1911,  by  delegates  rep- 
resenting the  different  shop  crafts  on  the  Harriman  Lines. 
Subsequent  to  this  convention  of  the  Federation,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Harriman  Lines  was  notified  as  to  the  action  taken 
by  the  shop  crafts,  and  a  conference  was  requested  between 
the  company  and  committee  representing  the  Federation. 

In  conjunction  with  the  request  made  by  the  Harriman 
Line  Federation  upon  the  company  for  a  conference,  the  dif- 
ferent crafts  that  prior  to  the  Salt  Lake  convention  of  the 
shop  crafts  had  standing  agreements  with  the  company  also 
notified  the  management  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  thirty-day  clause  in  their  standing  agreements,  and 
to  their  desire  in  the  future  to  meet  the  management  through 
the  federated  committee,  representing  all  crafts  on  the  Harri- 
man Lines.  The  testimony  of  Machinists'  Business  Agent 
Samuel  H.  Grace,  representing  the  machinists  on  the  Union 
Pacific,  Oregon  Short  Line,  and  Oregon-Washington  Rail- 
road and  Navigation  Company.,  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  before 
the  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  10,  page  9863,  verified  the 
above  mentioned  statement.  The  testimony  showed  that,  as 
far  as  the  shop  men  on  the  Harriman  Lines  were  concerned, 
the  thirty-day  clause  in  their  craft  agreements  was  complied 
with. 

Federated  agreements  had  been  signed  on  twelve  railroads 
up  to  the  settlement  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  strike  in  1910, 
the  victory  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  and  Iron  Mountain  Rail- 
road having  been  accomplished  because  of  the  federated  effort 
of  the  shop  crafts.  This  strike  was  first  called  by  the  machin- 
ists, and  after  being  out  for  several  months  they  were  assisted 
by  all  other  crafts  employed  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  and  Iron 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERATION  13 

Mountain  systems.  Shortly  after  the  federated  effort  was 
introduced  in  this  strike,  a  settlement  was  reached,  and  it  has 
been  generally  conceded  that  the  Missouri  Pacific  strike  was 
won  because  of  the  fact  that  all  shop  crafts  came  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  machinists  who  first  went  on  strike.  Therefore, 
the  victory  was  accomplished  through  federation. 

The  Blacksmiths'  Journal  for  October,  1911,  page  13, 
gives  us  some  information  relative  to  the  success  of  labor 
organizations  in  procuring  a  hearing  before  railroad  manage- 
ments shortly  before  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
strikes.  It  makes  the  following  statement : 

Following  the  Harriman  trouble,  reports  come  that  the  M.,  K.  &  T. 
(Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas  Railroad)  are  refusing  to  meet  the  Federated 
committees.  The  carmen  are  now  on  strike  and  conditions  are  very  seri- 
ous, and  the  other  crafts  are  in  a  gloomy  mood  on  account  of  what  they 
think  is  an  arbitrary  stand  taken  by  the  company. 

The  Kanahwa  &  Michigan  Railroad  employees  are  experiencing  the 
same  difficulty. 

The  superintendent  of  Motive  power  on  the  C.  &  E.  I.  (Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  Railroad),  after  meeting  the  committees,  insolently 
remarked  that  they  had  better  take  their  proposed  agreements  home  and 
frame  them. 

The  foregoing  was  written  and  printed  before  the  incep- 
tion of  the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines, 
and  should  give  us  some  idea  relative  to  prevailing  conditions 
in  the  labor  market  during  the  month  of  September,  1911, 
about  the  time  that  the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  lines  were  called. 

With  the  passing  of  the  year  1910,  the  average  man  who 
understood  the  labor  movement  was  convinced  that  the  time 
of  individual  craft  strikes  were  of  the  past.  They  could  no 
longer  deliver  the  goods.  This  had  been  demonstrated  on  the 
Santa  Fe,  the  Erie,  the  B.  &  O.,  the  L.  &  N.,  the  Great  West- 
ern and  on  many  other  roads  where  failure  was  the  result  of 
individual  craft  effort.  The  Iowa  Central,  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande,  and  the  Missouri  Pacific  strikes,  which  had  played 
their  part  in  the  social  crisis  prior  to  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strike,  were  successful  in  securing  some  kind 


14  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

of  settlements  because  of  the  fact  that  there  was  a  joint  or 
federated  effort  among  the  shop  crafts  involved. 

Craft  agreements  were  in  existence  between  the  men  on 
the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Harriman  Lines,  but  for  three 
years  they  had  procured  nothing  to  speak  of  through  these 
agreements.  The  time  was  approaching,  and  in  fact  had  al- 
ready arrived,  on  the  Pacific  system  of  the  Harriman  Lines 
where  the  company  would  not  even  grant  the  individual  crafts 
a  conference.  There  was  only  one  course  for  the  men  to  pur- 
sue, and  that  was  to  adopt  the  line  of  action  that  had  given 
those  who  had  been  confronted  with  the  same  opposition  the 
best  results. 

The  testimony  of  railroad  managers  and  labor  leaders 
alike,  before  the  Industrial  Relation  hearing  of  Sept.  7,  1915, 
established  the  fact  that  the  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  were  forced  to  organize  into  a  federation, 
because  of  their  failure  to  get  anything  through  craft  organi- 
zations. They  were  forced  to  go  on  strike  to  establish  respect 
for  themselves  and  for  the  federated  movement  on  the  twelve 
roads  that  had  already  signed  federated  agreements.  Had 
not  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  men  put  up  a 
fight  for  federation,  the  federated  movement  would  have  depre- 
ciated on  the  roads  where  it  was  established.  It  would  have 
been  deprived  of  its  respectability  before  the  managements 
of  those  roads  where  the  men  hoped  to  have  it  established  in  the 
future. 

The  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  men  had  to  strike  to 
maintain  the  few  bettered  conditions  that  they  had  procured 
through  many  years  of  effort,  or,  like  cowards,  surrender  them. 
They  were  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  to  maintain  the  some- 
thing called  honor  among  those  in  organized  labor,  it  was 
necessary  to  strike,  even  though  that  strike  could  not  be  won, 
or  the  Federation  recognized  by  the  company.  It  was  there- 
fore necessary  to  strike  in  order  that  the  men  on  some  of  the 
other  railroads  might  be  relieved  of  going  on  strike  when  they 
in  the  future  had  occasion  to  make  demands  for  the  federated 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERATION  15 

systems  in  handling  their  legislation  with  their  respective  man- 
agements. It  was  the  full  duty  of  the  men  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  to  act  decisively,  because  it  was 
on  these  roads  that  the  right  to  organize  as  a  Federation  was% 
first  challenged. 

The  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  were 
too  big  to  "pass  the  buck"  to  the  shoulders  of  their  fellow- 
men.  Instead  they  met  the  responsibility  and  made  the  sacri- 
fice so  that  those  who  were  scheduled  to  arrive  upon  the  rocky 
roads  of  progress  might  be  able  to  travel  free  without  being 
hampered  by  the  precedent  of  cowardice.  Clearly,  then,  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  men 
to  strike. 

The  attitude  of  Mr.  Charles  H.  Markham  of  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Julius  Kruttschnitt  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  in 
relation  to  System  Federation,  was  very  well  established  prior 
to  the  strike  of  1911,  as  well  as  during  the  strike  and  at  the 
hearing  before  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  President. 
•At  no  time  did  they  change  their  position  as  to  the  Federation 
when  directed  toward  the  interest  of  the  shop  employees. 

The  railroads  will  be  operated  in  the  interest  of  "shrewd 
finance"  as  long  as  they  are  successful  in  procuring  men  of 
the  Markham-Kruttschnitt  type  to  serve  them  as  officers. 
They  do  not  go  to  bed  and  wake  up  with  illusions  that  have 
altered  their  decisions,  but  boldly  stand  out  true  to  their  deter- 
mination, that  might  makes  right.  They  fully  realize  that 
if  they  want  to  establish  their  conception  of  what  is  right, 
they  must  be  mighty  enough  to  do  so. 

Among  the  labor  leaders  who  had  jurisdiction  over  the 
men  involved  in  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike, 
there  were  but  few  of  them  who  stood  as  true  to  the  federated 
movement  as  Mr.  Markham  and  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  were  true 
to  the  stockholders  of  the  railroads. 

Inasmuch  as  these  labor  leaders  were  not  questioned  regard- 
ing their  attitude  towards  the  Federation  and  the  men  on  strike 
during  the  Industrial  Relation  Investigation  of  the  Illinois 


16  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike,  we  will  so  review  their 
actions  that  it  may  be  understood  that  the  men  involved  in 
the  strike  were  not  only  engaged  in  putting  up  a  fight  against 
,the  railroads  for  federation,  but  against  that  smiling  indi- 
vidual as  well  who  sometimes  is  garbed  with  the  cloak  of 
authority  and  known  as  an  International  officer,  or  "business 
agent,"  who  can  perform  so  artistically  under  the  spot  lights 
that  he  secures  the  admiration  of  half-baked  thinkers,  whose 
thoughts  never  penetrated  deeper  than  upon  the  painted  like- 
ness of  a  burlesque  star. 

In  order  that  we  may  best  determine  the  duties  of  the 
International  officers  toward  the  men  who  went  on  strike,  we 
shall  first  make  an  effort  to  find  the  attitude  of  the  different 
International  Presidents  and  their  organizations  involved  in  the 
federated  movement  as  organized  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  prior  to  the  calling  of  the  strike  on  Sept. 
30, 1911. 

OFFICERS  DEMANDING  THE  MEN  TO  STRIKE 

Upon  the  failure  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  System  Federation  to  procure  a  conference  with  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  through  their  officers 
and  committees  as  elected  at  the  convention  of  the  federated 
shop  crafts  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  May  1,  1911,  and  Salt  Lake 
City,  Utah,  June  5,  1911,  the  controversy  was  turned  over 
to  the  respective  International  officers  of  the  crafts  affiliated 
with  the  system  federations.  None  of  the  International  Presi- 
dents had  prior  to  this  time  manifested  any  objections  to  the 
organization  of  the  Federation,  but  had  authorized  the  sign- 
ing up  of  twelve  federated  agreements  on  twelve  different 
railroads,  prior  to  the  time  the  matter  concerning  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  Federation  was  placed  with  them 
for  disposition. 

A  strike  vote  among  the  men  involved  on  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Lines  was  taken,  to  determine  to  what 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE         17 

extent  the  men  would  go  to  enforce  their  demand  for  the 
recognition  of  the  Federation.  This  vote  carried  for  a  strike 
by  97  per  cent  of  the  men  involved.  The  International  officers 
now,  fortified  by  the  strike  vote,  requested  a  conference  with 
the  railroad  management  for  the  purpose  of  securing  recog- 
nition for  the  federated  committees. 

The  International  officers  who  were  handling  the  Illinois 
Central  end  of  the  controversy  were  making  their  headquarters 
in  Chicago.  All  of  them  had  a  strike  vote  with  which  to  back 
up  their  demands.  All  organizations,  save  one,  had  through 
their  respective  executive  boards  sanctioned  the  strike.  The 
exception  was  the  machinists.  On  Sept.  12,  1911,  President 
James  O'Connell  of  the  Machinists  notified  the  Chicago  dele- 
gation of  International  officers  that  the  machinists  would  take 
action  on  the  strike  situation  at  the  coming  convention  at 
Davenport,  Sept.  18,  1911. 

A  circular  issued  by  the  Chicago  delegation  of  Interna- 
tional officers  handling  the  Illinois  Central  matter,  dated  Sept. 
12,  1911,  included  the  following  statement: 

"Upon  being  advised  by  President  James  O'Connell  that  the  machin- 
ists would  take  no  action  until  the  Davenport  convention,  Mr.  Al.  Hinz- 
man  of  the  Boilermakers,  made  a  motion,  which  was  seconded  by  Frank 
Paquin  of  the  Carmen  to  submit  another  strike  vote  to  the  men  on  the 
Illinois  Central." 

In  this  strike  vote  they  proceeded  to  ask  a  lot  of  "ifs"  and 
laid  the  cause  of  the  delay  directly  to  the  machinists'  organiza- 
tion, because  they  had  not  sanctioned  the  strike.  This  strike 
vote  carried  with  it  the  four  specific  questions,  First:  "Will 
you  strike  to  enforce  recognition  of  the  System  Federation?" 
Second:  "Will  you  strike  if  the  machinists'  organization 
refuses  to  sanction  a  strike  ?"  Third :  "Will  you  strike  regard- 
less of  financial  assistance?"  Fourth:  "Should  the  demand  of 
the  company  that  the  thirty  days'  notice  be  served  be  complied 
with?" 

This  strike  vote  was  sent  out,  and  met  with  much  ridicule 
from  the  men  all  over  the  system,  and  at  many  terminals  on 


18  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  system  the  men  refused  to  take  this  vote,  sending  the 
ballots  back  to  their  International  officers,  in  their  blank  forms, 
and  at  other  places  they  were  destroyed  with  much  contempt. 
The  men  took  the  stand  that  they  had  already  taken  one  strike 
vote,  which  had  been  taken  in  compliance  with  the  constitutions 
of  their  respective  organizations,  and  that  the  International 
officers  had  this  vote  and  knew  what  the  men  would  do  in  the 
event  of  a  strike.  This  vote  was  to  be  returned  on  Oct.  10, 
1911,  but,  when  they  discovered  that  the  men  were  going  to 
stand  by  the  vote  they  had  first  taken,  this  second  attempt  was 
abandoned.  There  were,  however,  some  underlying  reasons 
for  submitting  the  second  strike  vote.  It  was  possibly  sent  out 
for  the  purpose  of  discouraging  the  men,  or  for  the  purpose  of 
causing  a  split  between  the  machinists  and  the  rest  of  the  trades 
by  showing  the  machinists  up  as  the  "yellows"  among  the  shop 
trades. 

The  most  important  question  in  this  strike  vote  was  the 
third  question — "Will  you  strike  regardless  of  financial  assist- 
ance?" Every  International  organization  had  a  constitution 
in  which  there  was  a  clause  governing  strikes  and  strike  benefits. 
These  constitutions  can  only  be  altered  by  a  referendum  or  a 
convention.  The  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  had  no  right  to  change  the  laws  governing  strike  benefits 
of  their  respective  organizations  either  to  favor  or  disfavor 
themselves,  and  the  International  officers  of  the  organizations 
who  submitted  a  constitutional  question  to  a  handful  of  men 
of  their  craft  organization,  such  as  those  who  were  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  which 
was  only  a  small  fraction  of  those  who  must  be  considered  when 
changes  in  constitutions  take  place,  were  actuated  by  impure 
motives.  Why  was  this  important  question  not  asked  on  the 
first  strike  ballot?  To  submit  such  a  proposition  to  the  men 
who  were  willing  to  go  the  limit,  who  were  willing  to  sacrifice 
their  jobs  when  instructed  to  do  so,  and  then  again,  ask  them 
to  sacrifice  their  little  six  dollars  a  week  as  strike  benefits  was 
absurd. 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE         19 

There  is,  however,  no  record  of  any  session  being  held 
among  the  International  officers  where  they  submitted  a  vote 
among  themselves  on  a  proposition  of  "Should  they  remain  and 
serve  the  interests  of  their  organizations  without  a  salary?" 
"Would  they  join  the  men  in  this  fight  for  the  principle  that 
was  involved  in  the  federated  movement,  without  pay,  and 
surrender  their  monthly  allowance?"  They  overlooked  the 
importance  of  acting  on  this  proposition  among  themselves. 

The  fourth  question  in  this  strike  vote  was,  "Should  the 
demand  of  the  company,  that  the  thirty  days'  notice  be  served, 
be  complied  with?"  Vice  President  P.  J.  Conlon  of  the 
Machinists,  who  represented  the  machinists  in  the  Chicago 
delegation  of  International  officers,  was  a  strong  advocate  of 
giving  the  Illinois  Central  the  thirty  days'  notice,  when  it  was 
a  fact  that  the  Illinois  Central  Company  was  notified  through 
the  officers  of  the  Federation  shortly  after  their  convention 
on  May  1,  1911,  some  four  months  previous  to  the  time  of 
this  meeting  of  International  officers  in  Chicago. 

The  shop  trades  on  the  Illinois  Central  agreed  at  their 
convention  in  Memphis  to  handle  their  negotiations  with  the 
company  jointly  or  in  compliance  with  federated  law.  There- 
fore, anyone  who  advocated  individual  negotiations  with  the 
company  subsequent  to  the  Memphis  convention  did  not  com- 
ply with  the  idea  of  federation.  Further,  why  should  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company  be  asked  to  recognize  the 
Federation,  if  the  shop  trades  affiliated  did  not  or  would  not 
recognize  this  Federation  themselves?  There  was  only  one 
legitimate  method  by  which  to  reach  the  company  after  the 
Federation  had  been  organized,  and  that  was  through  the 
Federation  and  its  officers.  The  Federation  officers  had  noti- 
fied the  company  and  served  the  thirty  days'  notice  on  them. 

The  Illinois  Central  through  the  newspapers  made  an  effort 
to  confuse  the  public ;  a  method  practiced  by  all  corporations 
when  engaged  in  a  strike  with  its  employees.  They  had  much 
to  say  concerning  the  thirty  days'  notice  clause  before  and 
after  the  strike  had  taken  place.  The  companies  hoped  to 


20  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

use  this  in  confusing  the  men  as  well  as  the  public,  in  order  to 
play  for  more  time  in  which  to  secure  strike  breakers,  gun-men 
and  guards,  and  to  get  their  motive  power  and  rolling  stock 
in  the  best  possible  shape,  so  that  they  would  be  better  equipped 
to  put  up  an  effective  fight  when  the  strike  took  place. 

To  prove  that  the  companies  were  getting  ready  for  the 
strike  and  had  prepared  for  it  for  some  time,  and  were  taking 
advantage  of  any  delay  that  was  granted  them,  Business  Agent 
W.  F.  Evans  of  the  Machinists  in  Denver,  Colo.,  in  his  report 
written  before  the  strike  was  called,  and  published  on  page 
1057,  October  issue  of  the  Machinists'  Journal,  states  in 
part: 

"The  Union  Pacific  shops  in  Denver  are  now  closed  shops 
~by  a  high  board  fence." 

From  this  we  can  gather  that  the  company  was  getting 
ready  by  fencing  in  their  properties,  and  what  they  had  done 
in  Denver  was  done  at  many  other  terminal  points  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  That  the  company  was 
given  ample  time  to  get  ready  there  is  no  question,  inasmuch 
as  they  had  several  carloads  of  strike  breakers  for  each  ter- 
minal point,  that  arrived  at  the  shops  the  night  following  the 
calling  of  the  strike,  and  anyone  that  favored  giving  the 
company  "more  time"  had  but  very  little  idea  how  strikes 
should  be  handled  in  the  interest  of  those  who  must  go  on 
strike  and  pay  the  price. 

After  considerable  effort  the  International  officers,  of 
whom  President  J.  W.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  had  been 
selected  as  Chairman,  were  granted  a  conference  with  Mr.  Julius 
Kruttschnitt  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  at  San  Francisco  on  Sept. 
2,  1911.  The  entire  Advisory  Board  of  the  Harriman  Lines 
Federation  was  called  to  Frisco  in  conjunction  with  the  Inter- 
national officers  for  Sept.  1,  1911.  On  Sept.  2,  the  meeting 
between  the  International  officers  and  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  took 
place.  In  this  meeting  he  stated  that  his  company  refused  to 
meet  the  Federation  committees  and  that  he  had  been  advised 
what  the  consequence  would  be. 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE         21 

The  minutes  of  this  meeting  of  Sept.  1, 1911,  show  that  Mr. 
J.  W.  Kline,  President  of  the  Blacksmiths;  J.  A.  Franklin, 
President  of  the  Boilermakers ;  J.  F.  Ryan,  President  of  the 
Carmen;  J.  D.  Buckalew,  Vice  President  of  the  Machinists, 
and  J.  D.  Crane  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers  were  the  Inter- 
national representatives  who  conferred  with  Mr.  Kruttschnitt. 
According  to  these  minutes,  all  of  the  above  mentioned  Grand 
Lodge  officers  were  strongly  in  favor  of  "pressing"  their 
demands  upon  the  company  to  the  extent  of  a  strike  if  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  protect  the  national  honor  that  was  at  stake 
and  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  the  company  to  concede  to 
jthe  demands  as  presented  by  the  general  officers  to  Mr. 
Kruttschnitt. 

During  this  meeting  the  International  officers  and  the 
Advisory  Board  of  the  Harriman  Line  Federation  at  Frisco 
were  notified  that  the  Machinists'  Executive  Board  had  not 
sanctioned  a  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines, 
and  would  not  take  any  action  on  same  until  the  Davenport 
convention  which  would  go  in  session  on  Sept.  18,  1911. 
Therefore,  President  J.  A.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers; 
M.  F.  Ryan,  President  of  the  Carmen,  and  J.  D.  Buckalew, 
Vice  President  of  the  Machinists,  returned  East  via  the  Machin- 
ists' Convention  at  Davenport,  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
before  this  convention  the  urgent  necessity  of  the  convention 
endorsing  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines. 

Several  volumes  of  collected  testimony  could  be  printed 
relative  to  the  high  pressure  speeches,  statements  and  letters 
conveying  the  attitude  of  such  distinguished  gentlemen  as 
J.  D.  Buckalew,  J.  A.  Franklin  and  M.  F.  Ryan,  and  inasmuch 
as  we  are  fully  prepared  to  prove  upon  subsequent  pages  that 
they  played  their  part  in  "trimming  the  strikers"  by  failing  to 
Recognize  the  Federation  themselves.  Their  speeches  at  the 
Davenport  Convention  of  the  Machinists  are  quoted  in  full. 
For  reference  see  Davenport  Convention  Proceedings,  Sept. 
18,  1911,  page  103,  paragraph  No.  6. 


22  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

The  chair  then  introduced  President  Ryan  (of  the  Car- 
men), who  said  in  part: 

"I  want  to  say  that  I  appreciate  the  fact  that  it  is  very  necessary 
and  advantageous  to  have  funds  to  finance  a  strike,  but  there  isn't  any 
organization  in  the  federation  of  these  lines  that  can  finance  a  strike  at 
this  time,  but,  my  friends,  do  we  propose  to  let  it  go  out  to  the  railroads, 
to  the  general  public  and  the  employers  all  over  the  country,  that  be- 
cause we  haven't  funds  to  pay  men  strike  benefits,  that  we  will  sacrifice 
our  rights  as  union  men?  I  say  for  the  men  that  I  represent  that  we 
will  stand  and  fight  for  the  principles  of  unionism,  even  though  we 
haven't  one  dollar  to  pay  our  men.  (Prolonged  applause.)  He  said  he 
had  met  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  had  told  him  that  it 
was  the  treatment  received  by  the  men  that  had  caused  the  organization 
of  the  Federation,  and  that  his  men  had  been  anxious  to  strike  for  some 
time,  but  that  he  had  talked  for  peace,  and  had  managed  to  hold  them 
off  until  after  a  meeting  could  be  had  with  the  Executive  Board  of  this 
convention.  This  was  a  movement  in  which  we  must  all  stand  together. 
I  want  to  say  to  you  that  the  organization  I  represent  will  stand  by  you 
and  fight,  win  or  lose,  and  if  we  win,  we  will  all  have  glory  together,  and 
if  we  go  down,  let  us  all  go  down  fighting  for  the  principles  of  unionism, 
and  as  one  body."  (Loud  applause.) 

President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  made  the  above  speech  on 
Sept.  26,  1911.  Bear  in  mind  that  this  was  before  the  strike 
was  called.  Shortly  after  the  strike,  it  was  said  that  the  strike 
was  ill-advised  and  caused  by  "certain  unbalanced  agitators." 
Is  it  not  possible  that  Mr.  Ryan  himself  was  one  of  these 
unbalanced  agitators?  As  soon  as  he  got  into  the  strike  that 
he  was  so  anxious  for,  he  commenced  to  sing  the  soft  song  of 
the  "lost  cause."  This  we  will  endeavor  to  show  when  we 
arrive  at  the  place  in  our  narrative  where  we  feel  called  upon 
to  enlarge  upon  developments  after  the  strike  was  called. 

Page  104,  Machinists'  Convention  Proceedings,  1911, 
dated  Sept.  26th,  states  the  chair  then  introduced  President 
Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers,  who  said  in  part: 

"I  did  not  expect  to  talk  on  the  question.  I  fully  realize  that  it  is 
the  most  important  proposition  that  we  have  ever  been  called  upon  to 
handle.  The  principles  of  our  organization  are  at  stake.  The  action  of 
the  companies  has  driven  the  men  into  a  sympathetic  Federation.  Our 
men  have  been  discriminated  against,  and  if  we  neglect  to  act  now  we  will 
not  have  an  opportunity  in  the  future.  I  do  not  believe  that  we  can 
afford  to  back  down  on  the  proposition.  None  of  us  has  ever  had  an 
agreement  with  the  Harriman  Lines  that  has  been  observed,  and  if  we  lie 
down  at  this  time  we  might  just  as  well  take  our  charters  from  our  walls. 
I  would  not  attempt  to  advise  you,  but  you  must  realize  as  fully  as  we 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE         23 

do  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  and  it  is  for  you  to  decide  in  the 
interest  of  your  organization,  and  for  the  principles  of  trade  unionism, 
what  you  will  do  in  the  case;  whether  you  will  permit  the  companies  to 
scatter  us  and  drive  us  apart,  or  whether  we  will  stand  together  and 
united."  (Loud  and  enthusiastic  applause.) 

If  agitators  were  responsible  for  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strike,  may  we  not  count  Mr.  Franklin,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Boilermakers,  as  one  of  the  "enthusiastic 
comrades  ?" 

Page  104,  Machinists'  Convention  Proceedings  for  1911, 
the  chair  then  introduced  President  O'Sullivan  of  the  Sheet 
Metal  Workers  and  Pipemen,  who  said  in  part : 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Delegates:  I  believe  that  presidents  Ryan  and 
Franklin  have  about  covered  the  situation.  There  is  no  craft  in  the 
Federation  that  can  afford  to  separate  itself  from  all  organizations  in- 
volved. I  am  glad  to  have  had  an  opportunity  of  placing  my  organiza- 
tion on  record  as  being  entirely  and  unchangeably  attached  to  the  idea  of 
the  federated  trades  movement,  and  in  the  present  instance  we  are  with 
you  to  a  man."  (Loud  and  enthusiastic  applause.) 

President  O'Sullivan  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers  and 
Pipemen  did  not  make  the  trip  to  the  Coast  with  the  other 
International  Presidents.  But  from  his  above  quoted  Daven- 
port speech,  it  seems  that  President  O'Sullivan  favored  the 
strike,  and  admitted  that  the  cause  of  Federation  was  at  stake 
and  had  to  be  fought  for. 

On  page  104,  Machinists'  Convention  Proceedings,  19115 
Vice  President  J.  D.  Buckalew  is  quoted  as  follows : 

Vice-President  Buckalew  said  that  he  had  been  on  the  Coast,  that  he 
knew  the  spirit  of  the  men;  that  if  this  movement  was  not  supported, 
then  it  would  be  equivalent  to  severing  ouv  connections  with  the  federated 
trades,  not  only  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  but  all  other  lines.  As  to  govern- 
ment interference,  he  did  not  fear  it.  We  know  that  it  has  no  sympathy 
with  us.  He  said  that  he  believed  we  had  no  right  to  order  the  men 
back  at  Memphis,  Tenn. ;  that  we  could  not  order  back  either  the  carmen 
or  the  boilerrnakers,  and  if  the  machinists  were  ordered  back  they  would 
not  go  back  while  other  trades  were  out.  He  said  he  hoped  the  conven- 
tion would  not  refer  the  matter  to  the  G.  E.  B.,  but  would  assume  the 
responsibility  and  act  on  this  matter. 

The  Memphis  situation  that  Vice  President  Buckalew  of 
the  Machinists  refers  to  in  his  talk  before  the  convention  was 


24  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  grievance  that  had  developed  at  Memphis,  Term.  Being 
unable  to  get  the  matter  settled,  the  Federated  Trades  struck  at 
Memphis  on  the  25th  of  September,  1911,  some  few  days 
before  the  strike  was  sanctioned  by  the  Machinists'  convention. 
Buckalew  put  up  a  good  fight  for  federation  and  stuck  long 
after  the  federated  movement  had  been  deserted  by  others 
who  made  flowery  speeches  at  this  convention  in  favor  of 
calling  the  strike.  But  as  the  cold,  crude  breezes  of  time 
played  on  Jack  Buckalew,  his  ideals  and  dreams  of  the 
Federation  faded  as  the  green  leaves  fade  before  the  autumn 
winds. 

On  page  105,  Machinists'  Convention  Proceedings,  1911, 
Vice  President  William  Hannon  of  the  Machinists,  who  later 
handled  the  strike  on  the  Southern  Pacific,  is  quoted  as  saying : 

"The  grandest  part  of  the  discussion  is  that  it  has  centered  on  the 
question  of  System  Federation.  It  was  a  question  as  to  whether  that  idea 
was  a  dream  or  a  realization."  He  alluded  to  the  situation  on  the  Santa 
Fe.  Many  delegates  failed  to  realize  that  that  strike  was  a  strike  of 
machinists  not  of  federation.  He  believed  that  a  strike  on  railroads  to 
be  successful  should  not  be  fought  single  handed,  by  any  one  trade. 
The  System  Federation  had  passed  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  he 
said,  and  cited  the  Iowa  Central  and  his  work  in  connection  therewith. 
He  also  referred  to  the  D.  &  R.  G.  and  other  lines  where  the  same  results 
had  been  apparent;  the  strike  in  England  which  had  given  us  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  could  be  done  by  the  Federation. 

Vice-President  William  Hannon  of  the  Machinists  favored 
the  Federation  and  represented  the  Machinists  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  after  the  strike  was  called. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Kline,  President  of  the  Blacksmiths  and  Helpers, 
who  was  Chairman  of  the  International  officers  in  their  con- 
ference with  the  railroad  management  in  Frisco,  com- 
mencing Sept.  1,  1911,  according  to  the  Advisory  Board 
minutes  of  this  meeting,  shows  that  he  stood  out  for  federation 
with  no  compromise,  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  it 
became  necessary  to  go  on  strike  in  the  interest  of  federation 
it  must  be  a  fight  to  the  finish.  In  the  Blacksmith  Journal  of 
September,  1911,  page  11,  under  the  caption  of  the  "Feder- 
ated Trades  vs.  the  Harriman  Lines,"  President  J.  W.  Kline  in 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE        25 

an  extensive  editorial  covers  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  controversy,  and  says  on  page  13,  paragraph  3 : 

"Unless  the  representatives  of  the  shop  federations  are  recognized 
by  Thursday  noon,  Sept.  28th,  1911,  the  members  of  the  Federation  will 
have  permission  to  quit." 

In  paragraph  4,  page  13,  he  further  states : 

"This  is  the  conclusion  arrived  at  after  repeated  efforts  by  the  Inter- 
national officers  to  get  the  Harriman  managers  to  meet  the  federated 
crafts.  We  have  done  everything  honorable.  We  can  see  no  reasons  why 
the  federated  crafts  are  treated  with  such  utter  contempt,  as  we  have 
never  shown  a  disposition  to  hold  up  any  railroad  company  in  our  deal- 
ings with  them  heretofore;  but  on  the  contrary,  the  railroad  companies 
have  been  arbitrary,  they  have  held  up  the  public  in  various  ways.  They 

have  said,  the  public  be  D d.    They  have  defied  the  law.    They  have 

maintained  national,  state  and  municipal  lobbies  until  it  became  so 
scandalous  that  the  government  was  compelled  at  least  to  make  a  show- 
ing." 

President  James  O'Connell  and  the  Executive  Board  of  the 
International  Association  of  Machinists  on  Sept.  3,  1911, 
presented  to  the  Machinists'  convention  then  in  session  a  report 
covering  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  Federation. 
A  railway  committee  was  elected,  composed  of  Delegate  R.  S. 
Ward,  Nicholas  Ludwig,  A.  J.  Nye,  R.  S.  Craig  and  Thomas 
VanLear,  who  brought  before  the  convention  on  Sept.  26th  a 
report  favorable  to  calling  a  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  for  recognition  of  the  System  Federation. 
(Reference,  pages  1138,  1139,  1140  and  1141,  November 
issue  of  Machinists'  Journal.)  On  page  1140  of  same  issue 
states : 

"A  vote  was  taken  upon  the  report  of  the  Railway  Committee,  which 
was  carried  by  a  vote  of  187  yeas,  to  113  nays,  many  of  the  delegates  who 
voted  'No'  saying  their  only  objections  was  the  assessment  of  $2.50,  which 
the  report  contained." 

We  now  find  that  the  strike  was  sanctioned  by  the  highest 
court  of  the  Machinists'  organization,  its  convention,  and 
that  this  body  legally  and  constitutionally  called  the  strike  on 
the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  and  that  it  may  be 


26  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

understood  that  this  convention  was  not  an  aggregation  of 
erratic  and  irresponsible  men,  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Holder,  a  former 
member  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  in  writing 
up  the  proceedings  of  the  Davenport  convention  in  the  1911 
November  issue  of  the  Machinists'  Journal,  on  page  1130, 
under  the  caption  of  "Synopsis  of  the  Fourteenth  Conven- 
tion," page  1133,  last  paragraph,  states: 

"The  fourteenth  convention  at  Davenport,  consequently  met  under 
new  and  untried  conditions.  The  delegates  who  composed  that  body  were 
big  men,  mentally  and  physically.  Men  of  positive  convictions  and  won- 
derfully resourceful  in  parliamentary  maneuvers." 

We  therefore  find  that  the  convention,  in  Mr.  Holden's 
opinion,  was  made  up  of  delegates  who  were  reasonably  con- 
servative and  fully  capable  of  analyzing  the  gravity  of  the 
situation. 

President  Wm.  H.  Johnston  of  the  Machinists  succeeded 
President  James  O'Connell  after  this  convention.  He  was  at 
the  Davenport  convention,  having  been  elected  as  President 
some  time  prior  to  this  convention,  but  did  not  take  office  until 
after  the  convention.  On  page  84  of  the  1911  Machinists' 
Convention  Proceedings,  President  Wm.  H.  Johnston  makes 
a  speech,  in  which  he  does  not  enter  any  objections  to  a  strike 
being  called  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines ;  the 
nearest  he  comes  to  the  matter  is  when  he  states : 

"You  have  many  serious  problems  facing  you.  You  have 
the  great  question  of  Federation  of  Railway  Employes" 

However,  after  the  strike  was  sanctioned  and  called  by  the 
convention,  it  became  President  Johnston's  duty  to  see  that 
the  action  of  this  convention  was  carried  out  and  the  strike 
prosecuted  as  vigorously  as  possible,  and  if  there  was  a  prin- 
ciple involved  so  far  as  federation  was  concerned,  it  became 
the  duty  of  President  Johnston  to  protect  that  principle. 
But,  unfortunately,  he  was  one  of  the  first  ones  to  throw  cold 
water  on  the  federated  movement,  and  became  a  useful  agent 
in  fighting  those  who  were  making  and  exercising  their  best 
and  honest  efforts  to  make  the  fight  for  federation  as  effective 


OFFICERS  DEMAND  MEN  TO  STRIKE         27 

as  possible.  This  statement  will  be  substantiated  when  we 
touch  upon  other  subjects  in  the  history  of  the  strike. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Railroad  Clerks  were  organized  on 
the  Southern  Lines  of  the  Illinois  Central,  from  New  Orleans 
as  far  north  as  Centralia  and  East  St.  Louis,  111.  The  clerks 
went  on  strike  some  few  days  before  the  federated  strike  was 
called.  President  J.  J.  Carrigan  of  the  Railroad  Clerks  was 
an  ardent  advocate  of  the  federated  movement  prior  to  the 
strike,  but  shortly  after,  like  his  colleagues,  he  became  con- 
spicuous by  his  absence. 

The  Painters  were  involved  in  the  Illinois  Central  strike, 
and  were  represented  by  Vice  President  Clarence  E.  Swick. 
His  International  organization  sanctioned  the  strike  and  paid 
strike  benefits  for  a  few  months,  and  then  hoisted  up  the  white 
flag  of  surrender. 

The  Federal  Labor  Union,  an  organization  under  the 
direct  jurisdiction  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  was 
directed  to  strike  by  authority  of  the  officers  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor.  Strike  benefits  were  paid  its  members 
for  several  months  and  then  discontinued. 

We  have  quoted  statements  of  some  of  the  "leading  lights" 
who  were  the  chief  engineers  of  the  different  organizations 
composing  the  Federated  Trades  sufficiently,  so  that  you  can 
understand  what  their  attitude  was  at  the  time,  shortly  before 
the  strike  was  called,  and  so  that  you  can  now  determine  what 
their  duty  should  have  been  after  the  strike  was  called. 

We  have  satisfactory  evidence  that  all  of  the  Interna- 
tional Presidents  of  the  Federated  Trades,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Machinists,  made  statements,  public  and  otherwise, 
demanding  and  instructing  their  constituents  to  back  them 
up  in  their  demands  for  the  recognition  of  the  Federation  to 
the  extent  of  going  on  strike.  The  Machinists,  through  their 
Davenport  convention  in  1911,  made  the  same  demand  upon 
its  membership  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines. 
Passing  events  have  shown  that  the  rank  and  file  proved  loyal 
to  those  who  represented  them,  that  they  complied  with  their 


28  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

instructions  when  they  were  ordered  to  strike,  and  were  deter- 
mined to  remain  on  strike  forever  rather  than  to  surrender  the 
principle  of  federation.  The  few  who  faltered  and  fell  by 
the  wayside  were  lured  on  by  the  treacherous  smiles  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers,  who  at  this  time  preached  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  the  one  for  all  and  all  for  one,  under  the  new 
religion  of  the  federated  movement,  but  who  later  appeared 
upon  the  circuit  in  burlesque  fashion  and  charmed  that  weak 
element  which  in  any  great  movement  is  always  perched  ever- 
lastingly on  top  of  the  fence. 

THE  CALLING  or  THE  STRIKE 

The  strike  was  called  on  Sept.  30,  1911.  A  small  army 
of  the  International  officials  were  assigned  to  the  struck  roads. 
J.  D.  Buckalew  of  the  Machinists  went  to  the  Illinois 
Central,  William  Hannon  of  the  Machinists  to  the  Pacific 
Lines  of  the  Harriman  System,  Walter  Ames  of  the  Machin- 
ists to  the  Northern  Lines  of  the  Harriman  System.  In  con- 
junction with  them  were  the  already  established  business  agents 
of  the  Machinists'  District,  H.  J.  Malloy  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, J.  G.  Taylor  of  the  Pacific  System  and  Samuel  Grace 
of  the  Northern  Lines  of  the  Harriman  System.  From  the 
Boilermakers,  J.  F.  Schmidt  was  assigned  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, William  Atkinson  and  J.  P.  Ryan  to  the  Harriman  Lines. 
From  the  Blacksmiths,  Vice  Presidents  Roy  Horn  and  C.  H. 
Glover.  From  the  Carmen,  Vice  President  Frank  Paquin,  and 
from  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers,  Vice  President  A.  O.  Hoard. 
International  President  J.  W.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  and 
Vice  President  Al.  Hinzman  of  the  Boilermakers  made  several 
trips  over  the  territory  on  strike.  In  addition  to  this,  other 
Vice  Presidents  of  International  organizations  involved  covered 
the  territory  from  time  to  time,  especially  during  the  early 
stages  of  the  strike  when  it  was  rather  popular  to  "drive  in." 

J.  F.  McCreary  of  Paducah,  Ky.,  was  President  of  the 
Illinois  Central  System  Federation  and  W.  E.  Bowen  of  New 


CALLING  OF  THE  STRIKE  29 

Orleans  was  its  Secretary.  E.  L.  Reguin  of  San  Francisco 
was  President  of  the  Harriman  Lines  Federation,  and  John 
Scott  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.,  was  Secretary.  The  thousands 
of  men  who  had  gone  on  strike  had  left  the  cause  of  federation 
to  these  men,  depending  on  them  to  see  to  it  that  the  ideas  and 
laws  of  the  federated  movement  were  complied  with  and  lived 
up  to.  They  were  now  confronted  with  handling  a  federated 
strike.  They  were  face  to  face  with  that  idea  of  federation 
that  they  had  made  such  an  urgent  appeal  and  demand  upon 
the  companies  to  recognize,  because  of  its  economy,  efficiency 
and  harmony,  therefore,  it  was  their  duty  to  see  that  the  strike 
was  not  handled  on  a  craft  basis,  which  they  claimed  had  to  be 
discarded  as  far  as  doing  business  with  the  railroad  manage- 
ments was  concerned.  Unfortunate  as  it  was,  these  federated 
officers  were  chloroformed  by  the  International  officers  who 
drove  in  on  them,  and  they,  like  the  village  rube  who  went  to 
see  the  "Gay  lights  on  Broadway"  and  was  intoxicated  by  the 
smiles  of  a  dancing  beauty;  so,  too,  these  Federation  officers 
were  intoxicated  by  the  deceiving  smiles  of  those  who  should 
have  assisted  them  to  demonstrate  that  the  strike  could  have 
been  handled  on  a  federated  basis. 

Surely  if  they  refused  to  comply  with  the  laws  of  federa- 
tion insofar  as  their  own  organizations  were  concerned,  they 
were  inconsistent  in  asking  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  to  recognize  the  Federation.  Why  should  anyone  be 
asked  to  comply  with  a  law  or  regulation  that  its  assumed 
adherents  and  sponsors  refuse  to  recognize  themselves? 

So  far  as  the  Federation  officers  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  were  concerned,  they  proceeded  to  do 
nothing  from  the  inception  of  the  strike.  The  blue  prints  of 
their  activity  show  that  during  the  first  few  months  they  put 
out  a  news  letter  and  later  distributed  some  money  to  the  differ- 
ent points  on  the  systems — money  that  had  been  placed  with 
them  for  distribution.  They  did  this  individually  when  it  was 
their  duty  to  see  that  all  matters  concerning  the  strike  were 
handled  through  the  Federation;  that  all  men  who  were  as- 


30  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

signed  to  the  strike  zone  as  organizers  should  work  through  the 
respective  Federations ;  that  a  centralized  effort  in  the  handling 
of  the  strike,  in  compliance  with  the  federated  idea,  should  be 
carried  out ;  that  all  funds  and  strike  benefits  should  be  handled 
through  the  Federation  on  the  respective  systems  and  dis- 
tributed to  those  who  were  on  the  line  and  devoting  their  time 
to  the  strike. 

Here  was  a  movement  that  demanded  the  railroad  com- 
panies to  recognize  it  to  such  an  extent  that  it  demanded  from 
the  railroads  the  handling  of  all  the  legislation  of  its  affiliated 
craft  organizations.  And  then  these  men  surrendered  all  such 
demands  in  their  relation  with  their  International  organiza- 
tions. Yes,  and  surrendered  them  without  the  slightest  pro- 
test. Had  they  at  the  inception  of  the  strike  made  a  demand 
upon  the  International  Presidents  for  the  recognition  of  the 
Federation,  they  would  no  doubt  have  had  to  fight  them  as 
they  had  to  fight  the  railroads,  as  time  proved  we  eventually 
had  to  do. 

There  is  one  thing  that  stands  out  like  a  mountain  above 
a  valley,  and  that  is,  that  the  strike  suffered  and  eventually 
was  lost  because  of  the  failure  of  the  International  officers  to 
carry  out  the  principles  of  federation.  The  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  companies  to  recognize  it  was  a  secondary  con- 
sideration. Had  the  International  Presidents  recognized  it, 
and  acted  jointly,  centralizing  all  their  efforts  in  handling  all 
that  pertained  to  the  strike — publicity,  finance,  organizers, 
speakers  and  all  of  that  which  is  conducive  to  the  best  interests 
of  strikes  through  the  federated  movement  and  its  officers, 
t hen  the  true  strength  of  federation  would  have  been  brought 
to  bear  on  the  companies.  Instead  of  this,  the  Federation 
officers  sat  there  either  ignorant  or  afraid  to  protest  against 
the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  and  those  agents  that  robbed  the 
Federation  of  its  vitality,  the  inexhaustible  vitality  of  col- 
lective action. 

Instead  of  having  a  federated  strike,  there  was  a  strike  of 
craft  organizations,  some  nine  organizations  handled  from 


CALLING  OF  THE  STRIKE  31 

nine  different  strike  headquarters.  The  Machinists  handled 
the  machinist  end  of  the  strike  from  Washington ;  the  Black- 
smiths handled  the  blacksmiths'  strike  from  Chicago;  the 
Boilermakers  handled  the  boilermakers'  strike  from  Kansas 
City,  Kan. ;  the  Carmen  from  Kansas  City,  Mo. ;  the  Sheet 
Metal  Workers  from  Kansas  City,  Mo. ;  the  Painters  from 
Lafayette,  Ind.,  and  so  on,  the  strike  being  directed  from  nine 
different  places.  Where  was  their  j  oint  action  ? 

The  International  Vice-Presidents  assigned  to  the  strike 
zone  were  falling  over  each  other.  None  of  them  knew  where 
the  rest  of  them  were,  or  where  they  were  going.  If  a 
difficulty  arose  in  Chicago  and  those  implicated  were  Carmen, 
and  the  Carmen's  Vice  President  was  in  San  Antonio,  Tex., 
he  had  to  come  to  Chicago,  even  though  there  were  a  half 
dozen  International  Vice  Presidents  of  the  other  crafts  on  the 
ground  in  Chicago,  who  could  have  handled  the  situation  just 
as  well.  But  the  "jurisdictional  lines"  were  well  established 
and  none  of  them  were  going  to  infringe  upon  each  other's 
jurisdiction  to  the  extent  of  "federating"  or  complying  with 
that  popular  song  that  was  so  frequently  sung,  but  not  adhered 
to,  "The  one  for  all  and  all  for  one."  And  while  this  drama 
was  being  played,  the  Federation  officers,  President  J.  F. 
McCreery  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation  and  President 
E.  L.  Reguin  of  the  Harriman  Lines  Federation  sat  humbly 
by  and  did  not  make  a  protest.  In  fact  the  situation  became  so 
degenerate  that  some  of  the  International  Vice  Presidents  com- 
plained themselves. 

I  shall  quote  you  the  statement  of  Vice  President  William 
Hannon  of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists,  who 
was  assigned  to  the  Pacific  System  of  the  Harriman  Lines. 
In  February  issue  of  1912  of  the  Machinists'  Journal,  page 
142,  he  says : 

"I  have  also  heard  of  several  meetings  having  been  held,  and  others 
are  to  be  called  by  the  officers  connected  with  the  strike.  Before  we  can 
get  together  with  the  officials  and  make  arrangements  for  a  conference 
it  would,  perhaps,  be  better  for  us  to  get  together  ourselves.  Call  a  meet- 
ing of  all  of  the  officers  handling  the  strike.  I  think  it  would  be  more 


32  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

satisfactory  to  the  rank  and  file,  and  a  better  understanding  can  be 
arrived  at,  as  well  as  a  better  plan  devised  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  the  strike  if  it  cannot  be  settled  at  this  time." 

William  Hannon  got  this  through  in  the  Machinists'  Jour- 
nal, a  closely  censored  publication.  There  is  no  question  but 
that  Hannon's  report  was  "blue  penciled,"  but  from  that  part 
of  it  that  slipped  through  he  conveyed  the  idea  that  there  was 
no  understanding  among  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  that 
they  had  not  adopted  a  successful  plan  in  handling  the  strikes. 
And  this  is  at  the  late  date  of  the  month  of  February,  1912. 
Four  months  after  the  strike  was  called,  and  they  did  not  yet 
know  what  they  were  doing!  Mr.  Hannon's  report  does  not 
indicate  that  they  are  recognizing  any  portion  of  that  Federa- 
tion that  International  President  M.  F.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen, 
Mr.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers,  or  Mr.  O'Sullivan  of  the 
Sheet  Metal  Workers  held  up  before  the  Machinists'  Conven- 
tion at  Davenport,  Iowa,  on  the  26th  day  of  September,  1911. 
Does  it?  Not  much ! 

Let  me  quote  you  another  distinguished  member  of  the 
International  Association  of  Machinists,  Mr.  James  Sommer- 
ville,  from  Moose  Jaw,  Sask.,  Can.,  Lodge  No.  639,  a  delegate 
to  the  Davenport  Convention  and  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Board  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  in  discussing  the  Federation  before 
the  convention  (Convention  Proceedings  for  1911,  page  105, 
last  paragraph  ) ,  said : 

"The  Federation  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  was  one  of  the 
first  organized,  and  one  of  the  first  to  be  allowed  in  a  federated  strike; 
that  while  it  could  not  be  said  to  have  been  an  unqualified  success,  it  was 
not  because  of  any  weakness  in  the  principle  of  federation,  but  more 
because  the  trouble  had  been  precipitated  before  they  were  thoroughly 
organized;  that  the  blame,  if  there  was  blame  to  be  attached  anywhere, 
was  to  be  attached  to  the  executive  heads  of  the  different  organizations. 
It  was  demonstrated  that  the  Federation  was  a  good  thing,  and  when  the 
International  heads  of  the  different  organizations  took  hold  of  it  as  they 
should  there  would  be  no  further  doubt  about  it." 

From  Delegate  Sommerville's  remarks  we  can  at  least  learn 
that  the  strike  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  had  suffered  because  of 
some  fault  due  to  the  "executive  heads"  of  the  different  organi- 


TRAITORS  COMING  TO  SURFACE  33 

zations,  and  as  far  as  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
strike  is  concerned  there  is  no  question  about  it. 

The  only  people  who  recognized  the  Federation  were  the 
strikers  themselves.  At  each  terminal  point  they  held  their 
Federation  meetings  and  co-operated  in  the  handling  of  the 
strike  locally.  Working  together  on  the  picket  lines  and  in 
committees,  they  had  forgotten  that  they  were  machinists,  car- 
men, pipe  fitters  or  helpers,  but  jointly  assisted  and  pressed  in 
service  their  best  efforts  and  complied  with  that  which  make 
federation  as  effective  as  possible.  In  financing  the  strike 
locally,  everybody  did  the  best  to  assist  those  who  were  most 
in  need,  and  when  possible  compensated  those  who  gave  the 
movement  their  service  and  time,  regardless  of  whether  they 
were  mechanics,  helpers  or  laborers.  Had  the  International 
officers  done  likewise  the  strike  could  have  been  both  financed 
and  won. 

TRAITORS  COMING  TO  THE  SURFACE 

As  is  customary  in  large  labor  disputes,  the  newspapers 
are  very  generous  with  space  in  which  they  play  up  the  leader- 
ships of  the  controversy  in  question.  So,  too,  in  1911  the 
newspaper  syndicates  were  generous  with  their  two  and  three 
column  cuts  of  those  who  had  taken  over  the  responsibility 
of  making  the  final  dispositions  of  the  strike  controversy. 
The  newspapers  in  handling  this  publicity  campaign  unfor- 
tunately paid  some  disrespect  to  equality  of  space  granted 
the  different  International  Presidents.  This  created  petty 
jealousy  among  them,  and  for  a  while  one  might  have  thought 
that  they  expected  to  take  advantage  of  this  strike  situation 
from  a  standpoint  of  publicity  for  the  purpose  of  signing  up 
a  contract  with  some  theatrical  circuit,  and  had  a  desire  to 
play  the  Hippodrome  for  a  thousand  a  week. 

In  addition  to  this  petty  jealousy  which  was  so  apparent 
there  frequently  came  to  the  surface  indications  that  would 
lead  one  to  believe  that  the  sincerity  among  some  of  the  Inter- 


34  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

national  Presidents  to  the  federated  movement  could  be  ques- 
tioned. At  the  early  date  of  October  24,  1911,  only  twenty- 
five  days  after  the  strike  was  called,  President  M.  F.  Ryan 
of  the  Carmen,  in  a  letter  written  to  President  Kline  of  the 
Blacksmiths,  says: 

"Now,  Kline,  it  would  seem  from  the  bulletins  that  everything  looks 
very  favorable  to  us  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  but  I  want  to  be  very  frank 
in  saying  to  you  that  if  we  are  just  going  to  let  the  strike  continue  (and 
I  don  't  know  of  anything  else  we  can  do)  until  such  time  as  Kruttschnitt 
sends  for  us,  the  strike,  in  my  opinion,  will  be  on  this  time  next  year. 
In  this  I  may  be  mistaken  and  hope  I  am,  still,  as  above  stated,  I  don't 
know  of  anything  we  can  do  but  just  continue  the  fight." 

Was  this  letter  to  Mr.  Kline  from  President  M.  F.  Ryan 
of  the  Carmen  a  "feeler"?  Construe  it  as  you  will,  one  thing 
is  certain,  that  President  Ryan  was,  after  being  on  strike  for 
twenty-five  days,  not  as  drunk  with  the  principles  of  federa- 
tion as  he  made  an  effort  to  demonstrate  to  the  delegates  of 
the  Machinist  Convention  on  the  26th  of  September,  1911,  less 
than  one  month  previous  to  the  writing  of  this  letter.  What 
impression  could  it  leave  with  the  men  on  strike  who  at  that 
time  learned  what  the  attitude  of  Mr.  Ryan,  President  of  the 
Carmen,  had  developed  into? 

A  few  months  later,  during  the  month  of  December,  1911, 
a  mysterious  meeting  was  called  at  the  Briggs  House,  Chicago. 
This  meeting  was  not  called  by  President  Kline,  Chairman  of 
the  International  Presidents.  However,  it  was  called  by  some- 
body and  no  one  took  the  responsibility  for  calling  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  notes  of  the  minutes  of  this  meeting.  Men  were 
there  from  Council  Bluffs,  Paducah  and  New  Orleans;  there 
were  International  Presidents,  Vice  Presidents  and  committee- 
men.  President  O'Sullivan  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers  nomi- 
nated President  M.  F.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  as  Chairman  of 
the  meeting,  and  P.  J.  Conlon,  Vice  President  of  the  Machin- 
ists, was  nominated  as  Secretary.  (Reference,  minutes  of 
Briggs  House  meeting,  December,  1911.) 

President  M.  F.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen,  in  his  opening 
remarks,  says : 


TRAITORS  COMING  TO  SURFACE  35 

"Brothers,  you  att  know  what  we  are  fore  for,"  and  with 
a  few  other  remarks  sat  down. 

President  J.  W.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  took  the  floor 
and  said: 

"That  he  did  not  know  what  the  object  of  this  meeting  was  and  did 
not  know  why  it  was  called,  or  what  they  were  going  to  do,  and  would  like 
to  be  informed." 

President  M.  F.  Ryan  stated  that  he  had  been  asked  to 
come  here  and  talk  over  the  strike  proposition,  as  it  was  not 
as  rosy  as  some  of  the  pickets  and  others  reported;  that  he 
questioned  whether  we  were  winning  or  losing,  and  he  threw 
a  bucketful  of  cold  water  on  the  entire  strike  proposition. 
Vice  President  Frank  Paquin  of  the  Carmen  did  the  same. 

Mr.  Kline  called  on  Mr.  J.  D.  Buckalew  of  the  Machinists 
and  asked  him  if  he  had  made  any  false  reports.  Buckalew 
took  the  floor  and  in  a  heated  speech  defended  the  strike  and 
the  strikers.  He  was  supported  by  Mr.  J.  F.  McCreery, 
President  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation.  Business 
Agent  Mr.  Sanborn  of  the  Carmen  from  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa, 
Mr.  J.  W.  Kline  and  others.  The  only  ones  who  were  there 
with  a  "yellow  streak"  were  Mr.  M.  F.  Ryan,  Mr.  Frank 
Paquin  and  Mr.  O' Sullivan.  President  Ryan  then  took  the 
floor  and  stated : 

"That  his  organization  was  not  in  a  position  to  carry  on  a  losing 
game,  and  that  he  could  not  lend  his  support  to  something  that  he  knew 
could  not  win." 

Mr.  P.  J.  Conlon  reported  that  he  had  seen  a  railroad 
official,  but  his  mission  with  him  had  proven  to  be  a  failure. 
President  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  said: 

"That  he  was  in  favor  of  a  general  strike  on  all  railroads  to  force 
a  settlement  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines." 

President  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers  said: 
"That  he  was  willing  to  go  along  for  a  general  strike." 


36  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

All  the  other  International  Presidents  opposed  the  general 
strike  idea.  (The  Briggs  House  meeting  adjourned.) 

President  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  at  the  Kansas  City 
Convention  of  the  Railway  Department,  April,  1916  (Refer- 
ence, minutes),  makes  the  following  statement: 

"After  this  Briggs  House  meeting  President  Ryan  of  the  carmen  and 
Vice-President  Frank  Paquin  held  a  conference  with  the  master  car 
builder,  Mr.  Bucher  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  who  made  them  a 
certain  proposition,  according  to  President  Ryan's  own  statement,  that 
he  and  Mrs.  Ryan  would  be  taken  care  of  for  the  rest  of  their  days,  and 
that  Mr.  Ryan  got  an  invitation  to  attend  another  conference  that  would 
be  beneficial  to  him,  and  if  not,  his  expenses  would  be  paid." 

The  object  of  these  meetings  and  what  transpired  you  may 
construe  as  you  wish.  However,  there  is  one  thing  that  is 
certain,  and  that  is  that  President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  died  on 
the  job,  as  far  as  federation  is  concerned  and  the  strike  in 
general ;  someone  or  something  had  "tapped  him"  of  that  steam 
and  ginger  that  he  possessed  in  the  days  of  popularity  when 
he  was  willing  to  be  right  at  any  price,  even  though  it  was  a 
losing  game.  To  talk  strike  and  be  strong  for  it  was  a 
popular  part  to  play  in  1911,  even  with  many  of  the  men  on 
the  line,  but  as  the  polish  of  popularity  wore  off,  and  they 
started  to  face  some  of  the  hardships  that  are  to  be  expected 
in  strikes,  then  it  was  discovered  that  they  had  not  gauged 
the  issue  from  the  standpoint  of  losing  the  fight  if  necessary. 
So,  too,  Mr.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  lost  his  enthusiasm  as  the 
movement  closed  up  on  dark  clouds  that  should  have  been  seen 
and  recognized  by  him,  much  more  than  by  the  men  in  the 
ranks,  because  he  carried  the  shoulder  straps  of  a  general,  but. 
the  shoulder  straps  of  a  general  that  feared  the  outcome  of 
the  battle  that  he  stood  in  the  midst  of. 

In  order  to  strengthen  up  what  took  place  after  the  Briggs 
House  meeting  between  President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  and 
Mr.  Bucher,  ex-master  car-builder  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, I  quote  a  part  of  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Franklin 
of  the  Boilermakers  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Kline,  President  of  the 
Blacksmiths,  dated  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  Jan.  25,  1912,  about 


TRAITORS  COMING  TO  SURFACE  37 

a  month  after  the  meeting  in  Chicago ;  paragraph  2  of  this 
letter  reads  as  follows : 

Paragraph  2:  "In  reference  to  the  conference  held  with  Mr.  Bucher, 
I  will  state  that  I  had  a  talk  with  President  Ryan  Monday  afternoon,  and 
he  told  me  there  was  nothing  really  out  of  the  way  in  connection  with 
this  matter,  as  this  man  Bucher  had  met  President  McCreery  and  told 
him  that  he  would  like  to  see  President  Ryan;  that  he  could  bring  about 
a  conference  that  would  lead  to  a  settlement.  Brother  Ryan  showed  me 
a  telegram  that  he  sent  President  McCreery  telling  him  that  he  had  no 
confidence  whatever  in  Bucher  and  that  he  knew  that  he  was  not  acting 
on  the  square.  President  Ryan  further  told  me  that  this  man  Bucher 
came  to  the  Kaiserhof  Hotel  and  wanted  to  see  him  and  that  he  took 
Paquin  up  to  his  room  with  him,  and  it  appears  that  Bucher's  plea 
was  that  the  carmen  could  get  a  settlement  with  an  increase  for  all 
their  men,  and  that  they  could  put  Richardson's  organization  off  the 
system  and  various  other  miracles  could  be  performed  if  they  could 
only  go  in  and  settle  up  for  themselves." 

Paragraph  3  of  the  same  letter  further  reads : 

"There  was  some  other  statements  made  by  this  man  Bucher  as 
reported  to  me  by  President  Ryan,  which  no  doubt  President  Ryan  will 
tell  you  when  he  sees  you,  and  which  I  don't  care  to  put  into  a  letter,  but 
they  had  to  do  with  this  gentleman's  effort  to  bring  about  a  split  in 
our  ranks." 

Can  we  learn  from  this  letter  that  an  effort  was  being 
made  to  split  up  the  ranks?  Why,  certainly.  And  some  of 
the  crafts  would  have  been  ordered  back  in  accordance  with 
"proper  arrangements"  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  there 
were  men  on  the  lines  who  would  have  sounded  the  alarm  of 
approaching  danger.  From  this  time  there  can  be  no  question 
but  that  the  .railroad  companies  were  making  an  effort  to  split 
up  the  ranks  of  the  men  on  strike,  for  Mr.  J.  A.  Franklin's 
own  statement  to  this  effect  has  been  introduced.  Therefore, 
anyone  from  the  ranks  of  the  International  organizations  who 
made  the  same  efforts  that  Mr.  Bucher  was  making  in  January, 
1912,  was  also  engaged  in  a  mission  of  splitting  up  the  ranks, 
was  he  not?  Or  should  an  agent  from  the  ranks  of  organized 
labor  be  justified  in  performing  such  functions  that  Interna- 
tional President  Mr.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers  himself  con- 
strues as  a  shady  proposition.  And  if  such  was  considered  a 
disrespect  in  January,  1912,  would  time  change  and  alter  the 


38  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

situation  so  that  which  was  considered  disrespectable  in  1912 
would  be  considered  a  respectable  transaction  in  1915? 

Regardless  of  the  already  established  attitude  of  President 
Ryan  of  the  Carmen  at  this  particular  time,  I  will  try  and 
show  you  his  ability  to  ride  on  both  sides  of  the  question  at 
issue.  In  a  circular  letter  of  Feb.  26,  1912,  under  caption  of 
"Second  Special  Appeal,"  addressed  to  all  lodges,  officers  and 
members  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Carmen,  President 
Ryan  states  in  paragraph  3: 

"This  is  one  of  the  greatest  strikes  that  has  ever  taken  place  on  the 
American  continent.  The  strike  has  been  in  existence  for  five  months, 
with  but  very  few  desertions.  This  strike  must,  and  shall  be  won:  These 
men  are  willing  to  do  the  fighting  and  endure  the  many  hardships  that 
go  with  it,  and  all  you  are  expected  to  do  is  to  furnish  sufficient  funds  to 
keep  their  bodies  and  souls  together.  Will  you  do  this?  I  am  confident 
that  you  will;  so  confident  that  I  am  going  to  give  you  the  opportunity 
to  show  your  loyalty  to  the  Brotherhood  and  your  brothers  who  are 
engaged  in  this  strike  and  are  making  your  fight  as  well  as  their  own." 

The  news  of  the  Briggs  House  meetings  and  his  attitude 
there  had  "leaked  out"  among  the  strikers,  and  at  many  of 
the  points  President  Ryan  was  losing  his  grip  among  his 
membership  and  others.  This  so-called  "grip,"  however,  is  a 
necessary  adjunct  especially  around  election  for  a  professional 
politician,  and,  therefore,  this  false  play  to  the  galleries.  If 
the  men  on  strike  were  fighting  for  this  cause,  and  it  was  as 
important  as  Mr.  Ryan  says  it  is  in  his  above  statement,  then 
wouldn't  it  have  warranted  him  paying  his  men  the  strike 
benefits  they  were  entitled  to  by  the  constitution  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Railway  Carmen,  or  opening  up  the  treasury 
of  his  organization  which  he  put  under  lock  and  key  so  far  as 
the  strikers  were  concerned? 

Mr.  Ryan  was  more  responsible  for  the  strike  than  any 
member  of  the  Carmen's  organization  (Reference,  Carmen's 
Journal  and  the  minutes  of  the  Davenport  Convention,  I.  A. 
of  M.,  for  1911),  but  while  he  held  up  the  strike  benefits  or 
the  wages  of  the  strikers  amounting  to  some  seven  dollars  per 
week,  he  did  not  forget  to  sign  the  vouchers  for  his  own 
salary  in  full.  However,  with  the  evolution  of  time,  when  the 


THE  DEMAND  FOR  A  CONVENTION  39 

strikers  had  been  driven  off  the  line  by  the  cruel  forces  of 
necessity  and  scattered  over  the  continent  to  start  out  anew, 
the  principles  which  they  had  fought  for  were  surrendered 
by  President  Ryan  and  his  colleagues  and  the  mob  in  copper- 
riveted  overalls  did  not  question  their  authority. 

THE  DEMAND  FOB  A  CONVENTION 

During  the  early  part  of  January,  1912,  Rev.  C.  H. 
Doolittle,  a  striker  from  the  Illinois  Central  Burnside  shops 
in  Chicago,  a  machinist  and  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  was 
called  to  the  attention  of  Chairman  J.  W.  Kline  as  a  gentleman 
who  was  capable  of  holding  public  meetings  and  talking  on 
the  subject  of  federation.  Mr.  Kline  secured  the  assistance 
from  the  other  International  Presidents  to  the  extent  that  they 
would  all  pay  their  pro  rata  share  in  the  expense  of  sending 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Doolittle  on  a  lecture  trip  over  the  Illinois 
Central.  This  was  the  first  time  anything  like  federation  was 
complied  with  in  handling  the  strike. 

The  Rev.  Doolittle  was  a  platform  orator  of  the  "Billy 
Sunday  type"  and  fully  understood  the  federated  movement 
and  why  the  men  were  on  strike.  He  held  overflow  meetings 
at  the  large  terminal  points  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  was 
successful  in  getting  the  city  councils  at  many  of  the  cities, 
the  business  men's  associations  and  the  general  public  to  come 
out  and  hear  him  explain  the  strike  situation.  They  seemed 
to  get  more  information  out  of  Rev.  Doolittle,  the  Burnside 
machinist-preacher,  than  all  of  the  rest  of  the  platform  per- 
formers that  were  on  the  line.  He  knew  his  subject  and  knew 
how  to  tell  it. 

When  he  came  back  to  Chicago  he  rendered  a  report  in 
which  he  says,  "I  held  sixteen  Federation  meetings,  and 
consulted  with  a  number  of  different  Executive  Boards,  trav- 
eled 2,400  miles  and  averaged  four  and  one-half  hours  a  day 
of  public  speaking.  Many  of  the  city  councils  passed  resolu- 
tions condemning  the  treatment  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 


40  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Harriman  Lines  towards  its  former  employees  and  requested 
that  they  recognize  the  Federation." 

The  old  preacher,  as  he  was  called,  spread  the  gospel  of 
the  general  strike  everywhere  among  the  strikers,  and  this 
portion  of  his  religion  was  unforgivable  among  some  of  the 
International  officers,  who  were  strong  "antis"  as  far  as  a 
general  strike  was  concerned ;  therefore,  he  was  pulled  out  of 
service  as  an  undesirable,  and  when  Chairman  Kline  of  the 
International  Presidents  asked  them  to  further  federate  by 
assisting  financially  to  pay  for  Doolittle's  expenses  over  the 
strike  zone,  they  refused  to  further  federate  on  such  appropri- 
ations. However,  the  preacher  had  sown  the  seed  for  a  gen- 
eral strike  on  his  trip  over  the  Illinois  Central  and  a  demand 
was  made  to  hold  a  general  meeting  with  representatives 
from  all  railroad  shop  crafts,  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  for  March 
4,  1912,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  advisability  of 
the  general  strike.  This  demand  from  the  men  on  strike 
became  so  powerful  that  it  was  granted. 

In  a  letter  dated  Jan.  24?,  1912,  at  Water  Valley,  Miss., 
signed  by  John  H.  Hawkins  for  the  strikers,  and  addressed 
to  all  of  the  International  Presidents  implicated  in  the  strike 
was  a  request  that  they  make  arrangements  for  a  conference 
with  Mr.  Earl  Brewer,  then  elected  governor  of  Mississippi. 
The  letter  stated  that  Governor  Brewer  came  to  Water  Valley 
to  visit  the  strikers  and  conferred  with  them,  inasmuch  as  he 
had  twelve  relatives  out  on  strike  and  was  a  friend  of  the 
strikers.  The  state  militia  of  Mississippi  had  been  assigned 
to  strike  duty  at  McComb  and  other  points  in  Mississippi  by 
the  former  governor,  and  it  was  stated  that  the  governor 
wanted  to  see  if  the  strike  could  not  be  settled  and  the  militia 
discharged.  Arrangements  were  made  for  Grand  Lodge  Presi- 
dents to  hold  a  conference  with  Governor  Brewer  at  the  state 
capital  in  Jackson,  Miss.,  on  February  5,  1912.  No  settle- 
ment was  reached.  The  governor  had  nothing  to  offer  and 
President  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central,  who  had  held  a 
conference  just  prior,  made  no  concessions  to  the  Federation. 


THE  DEMAND  FOR  A  CONVENTION  41 

Mr.  Markham  stated  that  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  up 
to  February  1,  1912,  had  cost  his  company  seventeen  million 
dollars  ($17,000,000.00). 

The  General  Presidents,  leaving  Jackson,  Miss.,  went  to 
New  Orleans  where  they  secured  a  conference  with  the  members 
of  the  Cotton  Exchange.  The  railroads  were  represented  by 
Mr.  C.  E.  Markham,  Mr.  Julius  Kruttschnitt  and  Mr.  Lovett, 
the  representative  of  the  Cotton  Exchange,  being  the  go- 
between.  This  conference  also  terminated  without  any  results 
as  far  as  the  strike  situation  was  concerned. 

The  General  Presidents  in  their  southern  tour  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  frequently  discussed  the  approaching  meeting  of 
March  4,  1912,  at  Kansas  City,  which  had  been  previously 
arranged  for  and  was  the  federated  movement  out  of  which 
sprang  the  Federation  of  Federations.  At  places  where  men 
were  on  strike  they  were  met  by  many  of  the  restless  soldiers, 
talking  general  strike,  and  their  "morning  mail"  brought  them 
the  same  intrusive  religion.  The  pressure  was  going  up,  and 
how  to  control  the  safety  valves  was  the  question.  A  tele- 
gram had  been  received  by  J.  D.  Buckalew,  Vice  President 
of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  from  President  Johnston  requesting  the 
other  International  Presidents  to  meet  him  somewhere  in  the 
West,  Kansas  City  preferable.  So  they  decided  to  meet  in 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  February  20,  1912,  to  place  the  microscope 
on  this  restless  movement  that  was  considered  such  a  dangerous 
disease. 

The  Vice  Presidents  assigned  to  the  strike  zones,  and  the 
Business  Agents  were  called  into  Kansas  City  for  this  meeting 
on  the  twentieth.  They  were  put  on  the  stand,  questioned 
and  cross-questioned,  and  asked  why  they  who  were  on  the 
line  could  not  keep  the  pressure  of  the  general  strike  down 
below  the  surface  (reference,  minutes,  meeting  of  General  Of- 
ficers, February  20,  1912,  Kansas  City,  Mo.).  According  to 
these  minutes,  we  are  informed  that  a  wide  difference  of 
opinion  existed  as  to  the  advisability  of  calling  the  meeting 
that  had  been  demanded  for  March  4,  1912.  However,  those 


42  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

who  opposed  this  meeting  were  in  the  majority;  President 
J.  W.  Kline  and  Vice  President  Buckalew  were  the  only  two 
who  stood  out  against  the  cancelling  of  the  meeting  of  March 
4,  and  on  the  second  day  of  the  meeting  a  letter  was  drafted 
to  be  sent  to  all  lodges.  This  letter  put  the  wet  blanket  on 
the  general  meeting  for  March  4  and  was  dated  February  21, 
1912,  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  addressed  to  all  crafts  involved  in 
the  strike,  sent  to  all  local  lodges  and  signed  by  all  Interna- 
tional Presidents.  Let  us  therefore  observe  a  portion  of  this 
letter: 

Paragraph  1 :  "At  a  meeting  of  the  International  Officers,  represent- 
ing the  crafts  which  compose  the  shop  federation  of  railroads,  held  in 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Feb.  21-23,  1912,  which  was  called  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  several  matters  of  mutual  and  vital  concern,  the  question  of 
a  general  meeting  of  all  crafts,  parties  to  be  the  System  Federation  plan, 
proposed  for  March  4th,  1912,  in  the  territory  above  mentioned,  was 
taken  up  and  given  thorough  consideration." 

The  above  paragraph  is  quoted  so  that  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  the  purpose  of  this  meeting  of  February  21, 
1912.  The  purpose  was  to  kill  the  meeting  for  March  4,  and 
it  was  killed,  the  opponents  stating  that  it  would  cost  some 
$20,000  to  hold  the  convention.  To  flatter  the  strikers 
they  said  that  it  would  be  better  to  give  this  money  to  the 
men  on  strike — something  they  did  not  do,  and  had  no  inten- 
tion of  doing.  There  is,  however,  an  important  connection 
with  this  letter,  and  that  is  that  this  letter  was  a  federated 
letter,  signed  by  all  the  International  Presidents,  the  first  time 
that  they  had  been  driven  to  recognize  federated  efforts  since 
the  inception  of  the  strike,  with  the  exception  of  the  time  when 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Doolittle  was  sent  over  the  system.  Therefore, 
this  period  marks  an  important  milestone  in  the  history  of  the 
strike.  Why  did  they  not  handle  all  their  business  and  trans- 
actions pertaining  to  the  strike  on  such  federated  basis  as 
they  dispatched  this  letter?  Let  me  tell  you.  There  had 
been  nothing  since  the  inauguration  of  this  strike  which  they 
considered  was  as  worthy  of  results,  not  even  the  strike  itself, 
and  therefore  they  got  together.  They  were  not  moved  by 


THE  DEMAND  FOR  A  CONVENTION  43 

the  desire  of  getting  good  results  for  the  strikers,  but  against 
them.  Because  the  men  on  strike  were  demanding  a  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  possibility  of  a  general  strike, 
which  was  termed  a  restless  and  irresponsible  wave  of  agitation, 
the  joint  action  on  their  part  was  taken  for  the  purpose 
of  making  their  efforts  as  secure  as  possible.  But,  let  it  be 
understood  that  it  was  to  be  as  secure  as  possible  against  the 
men  on  strike. 

This  federated  letter,  with  its  wet  blanket  for  the  meeting 
of  March  4,  1912,  went  broadcast  over  the  country.  But, 
federated  as  it  was,  it  did  not  carry  "enough  water" ;  the  fire 
of  discontent  had  been  burning  too  long.  As  in  Russia's 
revolution,  the  czars  did  not  get  their  ears  to  the  ground  in 
time.  On  March  1,  1912,  a  delegation  of  Chicago  strikers 
stormed  the ,  office  of  Chairman  Kline  of  the  International 
Presidents  and  demanded  to  know  why  this  meeting  for  March 
4-12  had  been  called  off.  Mr.  Kline  advised  them  that  he 
opposed  the  rest  of  the  General  Presidents,  and  was  still  in 
favor  of  calling  the  meeting  of  March  4,  1912,  and  was  as- 
sisted by  Vice  President  Buckalew  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  but 
the  majority  voted  to  call  off  the  meeting  and  therefore  the 
letter  of  February  21,  1912. 

The  following  demand  was  then  made  upon  all  General 
Officers,  dated  at  Chicago  on  March  1,  1912: 

"The  Executive  Committee  of  the  local  Federation  demands  the 
presence  of  the  International  Presidents  at  a  conference  to  be  held  in 
Chicago,  Monday,  March  the  4th,  1912.  Matters  of  imperative  conse- 
quence demand  your  presence.  A  crisis  necessitates  this  call  for  a  con- 
ference. We  shall  expect  a  compliance  with  this  request.  The  situation 
is  such  that  we  are  compelled  to  make  this  demand.  We  trust  that  it 
will  be  heeded.  A  copy  of  this  letter  is  being  sent  to  the  General  Presi- 
dents of  the  organizations  involved  in  the  Illinois  Central  strike.  Very 
sincerely  yours.  Signed  by  H.  J.  Molloy,  S.  J.  Osten,  I.  J.  Cundiff, 
Wm.  Combs,  M.  E.  Murray,  J.  J.  Thomas." 

This  demand  from  the  strikers  was  recognized.  All  the 
International  officers  could  not  get  to  Chicago  for  March  4, 
and  therefore  the  meeting  was  postponed  until  March  9,  1912. 
So  that  it  will  be  understood  that  the  boys  "all  drove  in  for 


44 

the  circus."    I  am  referring  you  to  minutes  of  meeting  held 
in  Kaiserhof  Hotel  on  Saturday,  March  9,  1912. 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  J.  W.  Kline,  chairman;  John  Fitzpatrick 
was  chosen  secretary.  Present:  J.  W.  Kline,  Roy  Horn,  and  C.  N. 
Glover  of  the  Blacksmiths,  J.  A.  Franklin  and  J.  F.  Schmidt  of  the 
Boilermakers,  J.  J.  Keppler  and  J.  D.  Buckalew  of  the  Machinists. 
President  M.  F.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen,  President  M.  O'Sullivan  of  the 
Sheet  Metal  Workers,  John  Fitzpatrick  of  the  Federal  Labor  Unions 
and  a  delegation  of  thirty  members  composing  the  executive  boards  of 
the  Federation  at  the  Burnside  shops,  headed  by  Robt.  Knox,  chairman 
of  the  Board. 

Mr.  Robt.  Knox  stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to 
find  out  why  the  meeting  set  for  March  4th  had  been  postponed.  A 
lengthy  discussion  took  place,  which  was  participated  in  by  Kline, 
Ryan,  Franklin,  O'Sullivan,  Keppler,  Buckalew,  Molloy,  Jensen,  Doo- 
little,  Osten,  Glover  and  others.  A  great  deal  of  plain  talk  was  in- 
dulged in  on  both  sides.  The  International  officers  then  went  into 
session,  and  it  was  agreed  that  a  real  serious  situation  had  developed — 
that  some  influences  were  at  work  which  stirred  the  men  to  the  highest 
pitch — that  this  was  the  most  critical  situation  that  had  developed  dur- 
ing the  strike,  and  that  this  was  an  organized  movement  to  have  their 
own  way  or  else  cause  an  open  rupture  with  their  general  officers, 
and  was  plainly  evident  that  either  one  of  these  two  situations  would 
have  to  be  met  squarely. 

It  was  agreed  among  the  International  officers  to  notify  the  Burn- 
side  delegation  that  the  officers  agreed  that  a  delegate  meeting  be  held 
on  April  15,  1912,  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  the  officers  of  each  organi- 
zation notify  organizations  interested  to  be  represented  at  said  meeting. 

That's  what  it  took  to  start  the  Federation  of  Federations, 
now  known  as  the  Railway  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L. 
A  bunch  of  hungry  strikers  from  Burnside  shops  forced 
the  General  Officers  to  call  this  meeting  for  April  15,  1912. 

The  fact  that  the  International  Presidents  drove  in  for 
March  9,  1912,  brought  about  other  good  results  outside  of 
the  calling  of  a  convention  for  April  15  in  Kansas  City.  They 
sent  out  a  letter  through  their  Federation  asking  for  financial 
assistance  for  the  men  on  strike.  This  letter  was  dated  Chi- 
cago, March  11,  1912,  and  signed  by  all  International  Presi- 
dents. In  this  letter  of  March  11,  1912,  they  refer  to  their 
meeting  with  Governor  Brewer  of  Mississippi,  held  prior  to 
this  time,  on  February  5,  1912.  It  has  often  been  said  that 
the  men  on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
did  not  put  up  a  fight.  Certain  International  Presidents  have 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  45 

accused  them  of  this.  However,  in  this  letter  is  a  statement 
made  and  signed  by  themselves  which  reads  (  reference,  Federa- 
tion letter,  Chicago,  111.,  March  11,  1912): 

"The  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  has  lasted 
five  months.  After  three  months'  battle  President  Markham  of  the 
Illinois  Central  made  the  statement  to  Governor  Brewer  of  Mississippi 
(who  stated  to  the  undersigned  and  others)  that  it  had  cost  the  Illinois 
Central  $17,000,000  already,  but  that  they  had  been  reimbursed  from 
other  sources  $15,000,000,  proving  the  charge  that  the  railroads  were 
federated,  a  privilege  they  deny  their  employees.  Undoubtedly  it  cost 
the  Harriman  Lines  more  than  double  the  amount,  and  that  being 
the  case,  this  strike  is  costing  the  railroad  companies  $7,000,000  per 
month.  If  they  are  willing  to  sink  this  amount  to  fight  the  federated 
shop  crafts,  it  means  a  continuation  of  the  fight  on  the  separate  unions, 
if  we  lose  this  strike.  Signed,  J.  W.  Kline,  J.  A.  Franklin,  W.  H. 
Johnston,  M.  F.  Ryan,  M.  O'Sullivan,  J.  J.  Carrigan,  G.  F.  Headrick, 
J.  T.  Kinsella  and  John  Fitzpatrick." 

This  letter  was  written  by  those  who  signed  it.  They  were 
responsible  for  the  letter  and  the  statements  made  therein. 
Assuming  that  it  was  the  truth,  then  the  men  on  strike  were  cer- 
tainly putting  up  an  effective  fight,  if  they  never  won,  were 
they  not?  And  if  railroad  strikes  are  as  expensive  as  this,  then 
if  the  men  on  other  railroads  had  j  oined  in  a  general  strike,  how 
long  before  the  railroads  would  go  bankrupt  and  be  forced 
to  settle?  Bear  the  contents  of  this  letter  in  mind  as  you 
run  through  this  book,  and  see  if  you  can  find  some  spotlight 
performer  whose  sincerity  to  the  best  interests  of  labor  can  be 
questioned. 

Mr.  Kline  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  three  thou- 
sand three  hundred  dollars  ($3,300.00)  were  the  returns  of  this 
letter  to  the  Federation.  The  money  was  divided  40%  to  the 
Illinois  Central  Federation  and  60%  to  the  Harriman  Lines 
Federation,  sent  to  the  secretaries  of  the  respective  federa- 
tions and  through  them  sent  to  the  different  local  federations. 

THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE 

As  the  15th  day  of  April,  1912,  stepped  upon  the  carpet 
of  time,  the  historic  convention  of  the  shop  craft  delegates 
took  place  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.  International  Presidents,  Vice 


46  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Presidents  and  Business  Agents  were  there.  Some  of  them 
had  arrived  as  early  as  the  12th,  so  that  they  could  look  over 
the  grounds,  analyze  the  situation  and  decide  what  was  to  be 
done  to  control  the  demand  for  action  that  had  shaken  the 
very  highest  authority  in  officialdom  at  Chicago  on  March  9, 
and  forced  them  to  grant  this  convention  for  the  15th. 

Diplomacy  had  to  be  exercised  in  Kansas  City  as  never 
before,  for  they  knew  of  the  "fire"  that  existed  among  the 
Burnside  delegation  of  strikers.  With  this  meeting  con- 
fronting them  on  the  15th,  they  were  aware  that  some  rest- 
less soldiers  would  drive  in  from  all  of  the  points  on  strike 
and  therefore  Grand  Lodge  officers  drove  in  early  on  the  no-stop 
trains.  The  beer  and  meat  trains  had  unloaded  many  of  the 
strikers  on  the  river  front  Sunday  night  who  had  come  from 
all  sections  in  the  West,  and  as  the  sun  crept  out  of  its  nest  in 
the  East  on  Monday  morning,  the  15th,  the  free- footed  rebels 
had  their  "mulligan  stews"  around  the  campfires  on  the  banks 
of  the  Missouri. 

Diplomacy  was  the  watchword  among  those  who  came 
there  to  screw  down  the  safety  valves,  and  diplomacy  was 
exercised  as  never  before.  Sufficient  axle  grease  was  absorbed 
in  "greeting  the  boys"  and  making  inquiries  if  the  baby  had 
cut  teeth  yet,  to  keep  many  eccentrics  on  the  Harriman  Lines 
from  getting  hot.  The  convention  went  into  session  on  Mon- 
day morning,  the  strikers  being  well  represented.  Mr.  Kline 
of  the  Blacksmiths  stood  alone  among  the  General  Presidents 
for  a  general  strike;  Vice  President  J.  D.  Buckalew  of  the 
Machinists  played  an  important  part  in  demanding  a  general 
strike.  (Reference,  minutes  of  convention,  April  15-23, 1912, 
inclusive.)  President  J.  F.  McCreery  of  the  Illinois  Central 
System  Federation  and  President  E.  L.  Reguin  of  the  Harri~ 
man  Lines  Federation  were  there  in  support  of  a  general  strike. 

A  strike  of  the  Carmen  was  in  existence  on  the  M.,  K.  &  T., 
and  it  was  decided  that  if  a  general  strike  vote  was  to  be  taken 
on  western  roads  to  force  a  settlement  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines,  that  the  M.,  K.  &  T.  strike  should  also 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  47 

be  included.  Thomas  Wilson,  Vice  President  of  the  Machin- 
ists, introduced  resolution  No.  5  (reference,  page  13  of  min- 
utes) calling  for  a  strike  vote  on  the  western  roads;  it  was 
carried  with  very  little  opposition,  although  there  were  many 
Grand  Lodge  representatives  there  who  were  against  the  reso- 
lution, but  they  had  learned  by  driving  in  early  that  the  senti- 
ment was  too  strong  for  a  general  strike  and  they  were  diplo- 
matic enough  not  to  oppose  that  which  they  could  not  success- 
fully resist.  Therefore,  they  stepped  in  the  band-wagon  for 
the  general  strike  and  resolution  No.  5  so  that  they  could 
maintain  their  confidence  with  that  often  termed  "radical  ele- 
ment." Not  because  they  had  resoluted  to  stand  with  them 
in  the  future,  but  to  make  their  seat  in  the  band-wagon  secure, 
that  they  might  get  in  and  ride  and  wreck  it  when  the  proper 
time  came,  and  events  indicate  they  eventually  did  this. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  Machinist  Business  Agent  of  District 
No.  5,  comprising  the  machinists  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  and 
Iron  Mountain  Railroad  System,  was  elected  President  and 
Mr.  John  Scott,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  the  Harriman 
Lines  Federation,  was  elected  as  Secretary.  The  name  of  the 
organization  was  known  as  the  Federation  of  Federations  of 
Railway  Employees,  and  later  changed  to  the  Railway  Em- 
ployees' Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton  came  from  the  Missouri  Pacific  with 
a  good  reputation  in  handling  strikes.  He  had  directed  the 
strikes  on  the  M.  P.  and  Iron  Mountain  Lines  of  1910  and  the 
men  on  strike  felt  that  with  Mr.  Wharton  at  the  head  of  the 
Federation  as  President,  great  changes  in  the  interest  of  the 
strike  would  take  place.  It  was  believed  that  he  would  at  least 
drive  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  together,  and  the  strikes 
on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  would  from  that 
time  on  be  handled  as  a  federation  and  that  he  would  bring 
such  pressure  to  bear  on  them  as  would  force  them  to  recognize 
the  same  federation  that  they  had  asked  Mr.  C.  H.  Markham 
and  Mr.  Julius  Kruttschnitt  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman Lines  to  recognize. 


48  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

In  John  Scott  the  strikers  placed  confidence  because  he 
was  a  striker  and  as  the  news  of  the  Kansas  City  meeting  and 
the  election  of  Wharton  and  Scott  reached  the  picket  lines 
back  home,  there  was  a  wave  of  enthusiasm  that  kissed  the 
atmosphere  among  the  boys.     There  was  no  question  about 
it.     From  that  time  on  the  "smoke  was  going  to  fly."     Mr. 
Wharton  could  handle  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  that  would  not 
play  the  game,  just  as  he  handled  the  scabs  on  the  Missouri 
Pacific;  that  is,  make  them  like  it.     And  John  Scott,  like  a 
reliable  guard,  would  fight  when  the  rights  of  the  strikers 
were  intruded  upon,  or  the  cause  of  federation   placed  in 
jeopardy.     Therefore  there  was  an  air  of  delight  burning 
around  the  fires  on  the  picket  lines  and  the  humorist  found  that 
the  boys  had  become  interested  in  a  subject  of  more  importance 
to  them  than  to  listen  to  him  rehearsing  the  popular  stories 
he  collected  from  the  "Black  Cat  and  the  Roller  Monthly." 
For  at  last  the  men  had  been  elected  that  would  put  into  reality 
that  religion  of  "one  for  all,  the  all  for  one,"  and,  like  the 
love-stricken  mountain  youth  who,  in  his  dreams,  yearns  for 
his  blue-eyed  maiden  and  the  coming  of  the  day  when  he  and 
his  mate  shall  live  as  one  above  the  rippling  streams  in  the 
shadows  of  the  mountains,  so,  too,  the  strikers  yearned  for 
the  sunbeams  at  Kansas  City  that  had  promised  to  give  new 
life  and  action  to  the  strike.    But,  like  she  who  made  her  wed- 
ding gowns  and  waited  in  vain  for  a  lover  who  had  jilted  her, 
so  the  strikers  waited  in  vain  for  the  sun  rays  to  shine  from 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri.     They  waited  and  waited  in  vain. 
Action  was  taken  on  resolution  No.  5  in  the  form  of  a  cir- 
cular letter,  which  is  herewith  quoted  in  full  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  29,  1912. 

To  all  Members  of  all  Organizations  represented  by  the  undersigned 
National,  International  and  Brotherhood  Organizations)  whose  sig- 
natures are  hereto  attached. 

Greeting:  The  Convention  called  by  the  General  Officers  which  was 
held  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  April  15th  to  23d,  1912,  inclusive,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  the  Federation  of  Federations,  decided  to  take 
up  for  consideration  the  strikes  now  in  effect  on  the  M.,  K.  &  T.,  Illi- 
nois Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  After  a  thorough  discussion  it  was 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  49 

unanimously  decided  to  submit  the  following  proposition  to  the  entire 
membership  of  all  organizations  on  all  roads  west  of  Chicago. 

The  resolution  introduced  and  adopted  on  this  matter  was  substan- 
tially as  follows: 

WHEREAS,  The  crafts  comprising  the  Federation  of  Railway  Em- 
ployees on  the  M.,  K.  &  T.,  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines, 
have  been  on  a  strike  for  the  past  seven  months  and  are  still  on  strike, 
fighting  for  recognition. 

WHEREAS,  We  believe  these  roads  are  members  of  the  General 
Managers'  Association,  and  hi  our  opinion  have  the  moral  and  financial 
support  of  that  organization,  and 

WHEREAS,  Our  members  are  still  at  work  upon  roads  that,  in  our 
opinion,  are  contributing  to  the  success  of  the  struck  roads,  by  relieving 
them  of  their  obligation  to  the  public,  and  in  this  manner  contributing 
aid  to  the  detriment  of  the  men  on  strike,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  ballot  be  spread  upon  every  railroad  west  of 
Chicago  and  that  the  members  be  requested  to  vote  upon  the  following 
question,  viz.:  "Shall  we  demand  settlement  of  strike  now  in  progress?" 

The  question  for  the  members  to  decide  is,  shall  we  demand  a  set- 
tlement of  the  strikes  on  the  lines  of  road  above  mentioned,  to  the  extent 
of  calling  a  general  strike? 

Those  who  favor  a  general  strike  will  vote,  YES. 

Those  opposed  to  a  general  strike  will  vote,  No. 

By  action  of  this  Convention  it  was  decided  to  take  a  secret  ballot, 
which  shall  be  taken  in  the  following  manner:  A  uniform  ballot  being 
designed  for  this  purpose  will  be  sent  out  by  the  respective  organiza- 
tions. The  local  lodge  officers  of  each  organization,  on  receipt  of  said 
ballots,  shall  immediately  take  steps  to  hold  a  summoned  meeting, 
which  all  members  shall  be  expected  to  attend,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
the  strike  vote. 

Each  member  shall  be  furnished  by  the  local  lodge  Secretary  with 
an  individual  ballot  and  envelope.  After  voting  the  member  shall 
enclose  ballot,  seal  said  envelope  personally  and  deposit  in  the  hands 
of  the  local  lodge  officer  authorized  to  receive  same,  except  that  all 
members  working  at  points  where  no  lodge  exists  shall  be  furnished 
envelopes  and  ballots  by  the  Secretary  of  the  lodge  to  which  they  be- 
long, same  to  be  returned  in  sealed  envelope  to  local  lodge  officer.  All 
ballots  received  by  the  duly  authorized  local  lodge  officer  shall  be 
sealed  and  deposited  in  envelope  furnished  for  that  purpose  and  by 
him  transmitted  to  the  Grand  Lodge  by  registered  mail.  All  ballots 
must  be  in  the  hands  of  your  respective  Grand  Lodge  officers  not  later 
than  June  1,  1912,  at  12  o'clock  midnight. 

In  the  judgment  of  the  Convention  it  was  absolutely  necessary, 
for  the  protection  of  the  entire  membership  involved,  that  this  strike 
vote  be  absolutely  secret,  and  if  the  plan  as  outlined  is  carried  out  the 
desired  result  will  have  been  attained. 

This  mode  of  procedure  has  been  adopted  by  all  organizations 
as  a  standard  in  handling  questions  of  this  magnitude. 

Believing  that  the  membership  is  entitled  to  the  fullest  information 
in  connection  with  the  subject  matter,  which  so  vitally  concerns  them, 
we,  your  International  Officers,  desire  to  call  to  your  attention  the  fact 
that  the  respective  organizations  cannot  promise  any  financial  assist- 
ance, owing  to  the  depleted  conditions  of  our  treasuries;  therefore  we 


50  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

believe  it  our  duty,  as  your  represenatives,  to  acquaint  the  membership 
with  the  true  situation  now  confronting  us,  and  in  conclusion  will  say 
that  we  are  placing  these  facts  before  you  in  order  that  there  may 
be  no  just  grounds  for  criticism  later,  and  we  trust  that  whatever  your 
decisions  may  be,  it  will  redound  to  the  credit  of  organized  labor. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  due  and  thoughtful  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  matter,  we  remain, 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.  W.  KLINE,  President. 

WM.  F.  KRAMER,  Gen'l  Secy.-Treas. 

M.  F.  RYAK,  General  President,  Brotherhood  Railway  Carmen. 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN,  International  President,  Brotherhood  Boiler- 
makers &  Helpers. 

J.  W.  KLINE,  General  President,  Blacksmiths   &  Helpers. 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON,  International  President,  Machinists  & 
Helpers. 

M.  O'SULLIVAN,  General  President,  Sheet  Metal  Workers  Inter- 
national Alliance. 

JNO.  J.  CARUIGAN,  Grand  President,  Brotherhood  of  Railway 
Clerks. 

J.  T.  KINSELLA,  General  President,  International  Association 
Steamfitters  &  Helpers. 

GEO.  F.  HEDRICK,  General  President,  Brotherhood  of  Painters. 

JAMES  WILSON,  General  President,  Pattern  Makers'  League. 

Approved  by  the  Convention  of  the  Federation  of  Federations. 

A.  O.  WHARTON,  President. 
JOHN  SCOTT,  Secy.-Treasurer. 

This  was  the  time  for  the  diplomats  to  get  their  work  in 
and  wreck  the  band-wagon  that  they  stepped  into  at  Kansas 
City  with  all  the  smiles  of  the  professional  politician.  The  but- 
tons were  pressed  by  those  who  had  them  to  press,  and  the 
payroll  artists  who  could  be  depended  on  to  "go  along"  were 
saddled  for  action.  They  came  from  all  corners  of  the  conti- 
nent to  the  West.  Some  of  the  "dear  brothers"  who  had 
prestige  and  a  reputation  that  would  warrant  the  authorities 
to  believe  that  they  would  use  such  prestige  against  the  gen- 
eral strike  vote  were  put  to  work  and  dispatched  to  visit  their 
neighboring  lodges  with  the  white  flag  of  resistance  to  the 
general  strike  vote  and  its  agitation. 

These  obedient  guards  could  be  heard  barking  everywhere, 
and  pointing  to  the  history  of  dead  institutions  to  substan- 
tiate their  wisdom,  such  as  the  Knights  of  Labor,  the  A.  R.  U. 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  51 

and  any  other  monument  whose  descriptive  epitaphs  they 
could  read  upon  the  storm-battered  and  time-worn  granite 
that  has  fixed  its  place  and  age  in  the  graveyards  of  the  dead. 
The  railroad  Business  Agents  covered  their  jurisdiction  fully 
and  frequently.  In  this  the  operations  of  the  Machinist  Busi- 
ness Agents  were  very  conspicuous;  their  earmarks  and  foot- 
prints could  be  traced  everywhere.  The  railroads  realized  the 
critical  nature  of  the  situation,  and  the  petty  officials  and 
straw-bosses  that  could  be  used  were  pressed  into  service.  The 
railroads  turned  the  switch  on  their  publicity  agencies,  and 
the  metropolitan  dailies  called  attention  to  the  approaching 
danger,  while  the  grass-town  editors  told  their  readers  that  it 
was  "ill-advised." 

Between  the  29th  of  April  and  June  1,  1912,  while  the 
general  strike  vote  was  being  taken,  there  was  only  one  of  the 
International  Presidents  that  came  out  flat-footed  for  a  general 
strike.  He  was  J.  W.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths.  He  sent  out 
a  circular  letter  on  May  18  making  a  special  appeal  to  his  mem- 
bership to  vote  in  favor  of  the  general  strike  (reference,  circu- 
lar letter,  dated  Chicago,  May  18,  1912)  reading  as  follows: 

"April  5th  has  come  and  gone,  and  the  Kansas  City  Convention  is 
history.  There  was  some  dissatisfaction  on  account  of  the  March  4th 
meeting  being  called  off  and  there  was  some  criticism  on  account  of 
the  April  15th  meeting  being  called.  I  was  not  in  favor  of  calling  off 
the  March  4th  meeting.  And  I  was  in  favor  of  calling  the  April  15th 
meeting.  I  have  stood  from  the  beginning  for  the  Federation  of  Fed- 
erations. I  have  stood  since  the  middle  of  December  for  a  strike  vote 
to  be  taken  on  the  other  roads.  And  if  it  takes  a  strike  to  force  a  set- 
tlement, I  believe  we  ought  to  strike.  I  stated  this  before  the  conven- 
tion. I  stated  it  in  the  convention  and  I  still  believe  it.  I  want  the 
Blacksmiths  and  Helpers  to  understand  my  position  in  this  matter.  It 
may  take  a  general  strike  to  settle  this  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  battle.  I  stand  alone  among  the  general  officers  in  this  position. 
J.  W.  Kline,  Gen'l  Pres." 

The  strike  vote  was  made  returnable  not  later  than  June 
1,  1912,  and  was  taken  in  the  form  of  a  secret;  that  is,  the 
members  of  a  local  where  a  strike  vote  was  taken  were  not 
allowed  to  know  what  the  result  of  that  vote  was  in  their  own 
local.  The  consequence  was  that  no  one  knew  the  result  of  the 


it     f\F  ii  i  -  •  urn 


52  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

strike  vote  but  the  respective  International  officers  who  tabu- 
lated them.  In  having  them  tabulated  they  adhered  strictly 
to  their  craft  principles.  They  did  not  get  together  and  tabu- 
late the  strike  vote.  The  International  office  of  the  Carmen 
counted  the  votes  of  the  carmen.  The  other  organizations 
did  the  same:  counted  their  own  votes.  These  figures  had  to 
be  accepted  as  final.  The  reason  set  forth  for  the  advisability 
of  a  secret  vote  was  to  keep  the  results  of  the  vote  from  the 
railroad  managers.  There,  however,  could  have  been  other  rea- 
sons. Was  there  a  desire  to  keep  the  result  of  the  general 
strike  vote  from  those  who  voted  and  the  men  on  strike  ?  Pos- 
sibly so. 

Men  can  by  shrewd  diplomacy  be  kept  ignorant  of  what 
should  concern  them  most;  but  that  which  is  secrecy  among 
some  men  is  generally  an  open  book  to  railroad  managers  and 
others  who  have  the  means  of  getting  this  information.  And 
as  long  as  men  can  be  lulled  into  the  belief  that  it  is  best  to  keep 
it  on  the  Q.  T.,  or  that  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  just  that  long  the 
detective  agencies  will  flourish  and  managers  will  get  their 
paid-for  information,  while  those  who  are  most  concerned  are 
kept  in  ignorance  deep  enough  to  make  them  believe  that  no 
one  knows  it;  just  as  some  "little  girl  next  door"  thinks  that 
she  has  a  secret,  not  realizing  that  it  was  the  discussion  in  every 
kitchen  in  the  block  before  the  milkman  made  the  morning's 
circuit. 

Should  labor  unions  ever  become  big  enough  to  open  their 
doors  and  stand  up  on  their  feet,  like  the  average  man  who  eats 
raw  meat,  and  has  got  hair  on  his  head,  and  declare  to  those 
who  don't  like  the  looks  of  them,  that  they  can  come  in  and  look 
them  over  through  an  open  door,  then  a  hundred  thousand  slip- 
pery, fine-combed  and  polished  detectives  would  be  laid  off 
twenty-four  hours  after  this  declaration  was  made,  lose  their 
jobs  and  go  to  ditch-digging.  The  agencies,  instead  of  hang- 
ing out  signs  "Operators  wanted,"  would  hang  crepe  on  their 
doors.  But  possibly  this,  too,  would  be  against  the  principles 
of  labor:  it  would  throw  so  many  laborers  out  of  work. 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  53 

There  were  many  other  agents,  outside  of  those  whose  mis- 
sion it  was  to  put  the  wet  blanket  on  the  general  strike  vote, 
that  seemed  to  be  restless  as  time  reached  the  proximity  of  June 
1,  1912,  and  they  were  the  scabs  who  had  "positions"  with  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  in  the  capacity  of  machin- 
ists, boilermakers,  carmen,  blacksmiths  and  others.  They  were  a 
restless  lot,  for.  they  had  more  confidence  that  the  strike  vote 
would  carry  than  any  one  with  the  exception  of  the  strikers. 
They  knew  if  the  strike  vote  would  carry,  and  a  general  strike 
took  place,  that  the  $15,000,000  that  C.  H.  Markham  told 
Governor  Earl  Brewer  of  Mississippi  about  on  February  5, 
1912,  would  be  cut  off,  and  then  the  strike  could  not  last  long. 
(Reference,  letter  signed  by  all  General  Presidents,  March  11, 
1912.)  The  strikebreakers  at  least  thought  that  union  men  on 
the  roads  that  were  assisting  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  financially  would  vote  to  go  on  strike ;  vote  to  do  as  much 
for  the  men  on  strike  as  the  managers  of  other  railroads  did  for 
the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines. 

And  while  they  spent  some  sad  days  going  through  this 
crisis  of  June  1, 1912,  they  were  amply  repaid  when  the  decision 
was  rendered  that  their  occupations  would  be  secure  in  the 
future. 

On  June  28,  1912,  the  International  Presidents  met  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  At  this  meeting  a  letter  was  drafted,  signed  and 
sent  to  Mr.  W.  A.  Garrett,  Chairman,  General  Managers'  As- 
sociation of  Western  Railroads,  requesting  a  conference,  in- 
sinuating, of  course,  that  they  had  a  strike  vote.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Garrett  replied  on  July  11, 1912,  that  the  Association  of  West- 
ern Railroads  could  not  undertake  to  hold  such  a  conference.  At 
this  late  date  the  men  had  received  no  official  information  as  to 
the  result  of  the  strike  vote,  outside  of  the  information  given 
out  by  the  railroads  some  six  weeks  previous,  in  which  they  said 
that  the  vote  for  a  general  strike  was  lost,  and  so  assured  their 
strikebreakers,  which  later  proved  to  be  true. 

On  July  20, 1912,  President  A.  O.  Wharton  of  the  Railway 
Department  drafted  a  circular  letter  that  he  intended  to  be 


54  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

sent  out  to  the  membership  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them 
information  on  the  general  strike  vote.  Copies  of  this  letter 
were  sent  to  all  the  International  Presidents  for  their  approval. 
Paragraph  6  of  this  letter  reads  as  follows : 

"We  believe  that  it  would  have  been  a  most  serious  thing  to  have 
become  involved  in  a  strike  of  such  magnitude  at  this  particular  time." 

Mr.  Wharton  in  this  letter  conveyed  the  sentiments  of  all 
the  International  Presidents,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  J.  W. 
Kline,  who  stood  for  the  men  on  strike  and  opposed  the  sending 
out  of  letters  which  seemed  to  bear  the  finger  marks  of  an 
unseen  hand.  The  International  Presidents,  however,  thought 
that  Wharton  should  be  more  diplomatic  in  his  letter  writing 
and  not  express  his  private  opinion.  Therefore  they  refused 
to  approve  of  the  letter  as  drafted  by  Mr.  Wharton,  for  they 
wanted  the  news  of  the  general  strike  vote  broken  to  the  mem- 
bership in  such  slippery  language  that  would  draw  smiles  in- 
stead of  contempt  from  the  men  on  the  line.  Wharton  was  new 
in  the  game  as  a  "big-league  politician,"  and  as  soon  as  the 
old  experienced  chiefs  received  the  sample  copy  for  their  ap- 
proval, they  at  once  realized  that  they  could  never  keep  the  con- 
fidence of  the  men  by  openly  admitting  that  they  were  against 
them  at  the  Kansas  City  convention  in  April  and  had  worked 
against  them  for  the  general  strike  vote.  Mr.  Wharton  then 
called  all  the  General  Presidents  to  come  to  St.  Louis  for  the 
29th  of  July,  1912,  for  an  Executive  Board  meeting. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Wharton's  office  was  flooded  with  in- 
quiries for  information  on  the  strike  vote.  In  answering  these 
inquiries  Mr.  Wharton  drafted  a  general  circular  letter  for 
which  he  took  the  responsibility  himself.  This  letter  appeared 
to  put  a  wet  blanket  on  the  entire  strike  situation,  and  it  was 
said  that  this  letter  was  the  cause  of  more  desertions  in  the 
ranks  of  the  strikers  than  anything  that  had  taken  place  since 
the  inception  of  the  strike. 

Mr.  Wharton's  circular  letter  can  best  speak  for  itself; 
therefore,  meet  Mr.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway 
Department : 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  55 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  July  18,  1912. 
MR.  JOSEPH  HEMSER, 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother: — This  letter  is  in  reply  to  your  favor  of 
recent  date,  having  received  quite  a  few  inquiries  from  points  along 
the  struck  roads,  all  of  which  are  similar  in  character.  I  appreciate 
fully  just  how  our  striking  brothers  are  anxious  to  learn  what  is  being 
done,  and  what  the  prospects  are,  etc.  From  many  points  the  men  ask 
for  this  information,  so  that  they  may  know  what  to  do  in  regard  to 
some  of  the  pickets  leaving  to  accept  employment  on  other  roads.  Words 
fail  to  express  my  sympathy  for  those  of  our  members  who  have  been 
true  blue,  staying  on  the  job  and  doing  their  part.  I  know  what  it  means 
to  face  the  conditions  we  are  confronted  with  during  a  strike,  and  have 
seen  families  double  up  to  reduce  expenses,  and  thus  better  enable  the 
husband  and  father  to  make  the  fight. 

The  officers  of  your  respective  organizations  and  the  undersigned, 
constituting  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Federation,  have  put  forth 
every  effort  to  bring  about  a  settlement.  To  date  we  have  failed  to 
secure  a  conference  with  the  Harriman  and  I.  C.  officials,  or  any  one 
who  represents  them. 

I  am  not  speaking  for  any  one  but  myself  in  this  letter,  and  want 
to  say  that  in  my  opinion  no  conference  will  be  secured,  or  any  settlement 
reached,  unless  the  men  on  the  job  are  able  to  make  the  strike  effective, 
as  by  this  means  only  can  we  hope  to  make  a  settlement.  The  Harriman 
and  I.  C.  officials  do  not  propose  to  make  a  settlement  if  they  are  able 
to  operate  their  railroads  without  the  aid  of  Union  men.  We  must  all 
recognize  this  fact.  The  employers  do  not,  as  a  rule,  employ  union 
men  because  of  their  love  for  us,  but  because  it  is  the  cheapest  means 
at  their  command  in  operating  their  properties. 

The  deciding  influence  in  adjusting  any  controversy  of  this  charac- 
ter is,  as  a  rule,  based  upon  necessity  of  securing  something  they  can- 
not get  in  any  other  manner;  in  this  case  it  is  skilled  help.  We  don't 
for  one  minute  believe  these  companies  have  secured  the  help  they 
need  and  must  have  in  order  to  maintain  the  standard  of  efficiency  to 
successfully  operate  those  roads.  We  know  they  are  working  under  a 
great  disadvantage,  that  they  are  losing  money  every  day,  that  the 
help  they  have  secured  is  incompetent,  but  the  fact  still  remains  that 
it  is  not  sufficiently  so  to  force  the  companies  to  a  settlement. 

The  men  on  the  firing  line  seem  to  lay  great  stress  upon  what 
would  happen  if  all  the  Western  roads  were  out  on  strike.  Did  you 
ever  stop  to  figure  out  how  this  condition  would  affect  us?  The  I.  C.  and 
Harriman  men  were  of  the  opinion  in  the  start  that  the  strike  would 
not  last  over  a  few  weeks  at  the  outside.  It  has  lasted  some  months, 
and  is  still  in  progress.  The  strikers  have  had  the  benefit  of  such  finan- 
cial support  as  could  be  obtained,  little  tho  it  may  appear  to  the  indi- 
vidual; it  has  run  up  into  very  near  one  million  dollars  for  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Machinists  alone.  It  is  because  of  this  fact 
that  the  strike  is  still  effective.  If  we  had  all  the  other  roads  out 
right  now,  all  benefits  would  stop.  There  is  no  use  of  our  trying  to 
fool  ourselves  into  believing  we  can  pull  all  the  Western  roads.  There 
are  some  four  hundred  thousand  employees  eligible  to  membership  in 
the  organizations  affiliated  with  the  Federation  of  Federations,  and  ap- 


56  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

proximately  but  fifty  thousand  belong.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  win- 
ning a  railroad  strike  in  any  fixed  time;  it  may  be  three  months  or 
twelve  months. 

Our  federated  movement  is  in  its  infancy;  we  are  not  even  organ- 
ized; we  have  not  got  system  federations  on  one-third  of  the  roads  west 
of  Chicago. 

The  Federation  could  not  of  itself  even  pay  the  price  of  sending 
out  telegrams  or  letters  calling  a  strike,  let  alone  handling  the  abso- 
lutely necessary  expenses  of  conducting  the  most  limited  business.  In 
other  words,  the  Federation  of  Federations  could  not  even  maintain 
an  office  or  employ  a  stenographer.  We  are  only  starting  to  organize  and 
here  we  find  ourselves  confronted  with  a  problem  that  would  tax  to  the 
limit  any  organization  in  the  world. 

I  have  been  elected  President  of  the  Federation,  and  as  long  as 
I  am  in  that  position  I  shall  not  knowingly  be  a  party  to  anything  that 
spells  the  blasting  of  our  movement,  with  its  consequent  suffering  and 
misery  to  the  membership  and  those  depending  upon  them.  I  went  thru 
the  A.  R.  U.  strike  of  1894,  and  saw  the  result  of  premature  action. 
The  A.  R.  U.  would  have  been  a  power  had  it  lived,  premature  action 
resulting  in  a  general  strike  wiped  it  out  of  existence  and  some  thousands 
of  the  best  union  men  employed  on  the  railroads  of  this  country  were 
made  tramps  for  years,  and  all  of  our  organizations  were  at  a  standstill 
for  over  ten  years. 

From  the  information  we  have  been  able  to  get,  I  am  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  railroads,  while  not  exactly  wanting  trouble,  are  more  than 
willing  to  fight  at  this  time,  because  they  know  the  financial  standing 
of  our  organization  is  down  to  bed-rock,  and  trouble  right  now  would 
find  us  weakened  and  unable  to  offer  the  fight  we  are  capable  of  put- 
ting up  under  ordinary  conditions.  I  believe  in  fighting,  but  don't  believe 
in  the  policy  of  entering  into  a  struggle  (unless  forced  to)  without  hav- 
ing an  opportunity  to  prepare  for  it  by  working  out  a  system  that  will 
make  for  a  successful  conclusion  of  the  trouble. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  Harriman  and  I.  C.  strike  has  been 
the  most  successful  ever  inaugurated,  insofar  as  getting  the  men  out  is 
concerned.  This  being  a  fact,  I  attribute  our  failure  to  win  the  strike 
up  to  the  present  time  principally  because  of  lack  of  organization,  the 
lack  of  a  well-defined  and  thoroughly  worked  out  plan.  We  can  yet 
win  these  strikes,  in  my  opinion,  but  the  task  is  a  hard  one.  The  enthu- 
siasm that  we  had  to  start  with  is  supplanted  by  the  bulldog  tenacity 
of  the  men  who  have  stuck  to  their  colors,  but  the  great  opportunity 
offered  by  a  well-directed  and  thoroughly  organized  machine  which 
could  have  been  put  into  effect  at  the  start  and  prior  to  our  members 
leaving  the  service  was  practically  lost  to  us. 

If  my  policy  is  to  prevail  in  the  strikes  of  the  future,  we  will  do 
our  thinking  before  we  go  out;  not  afterwards. 

Now  in  regard  to  the  many  inquiries  as  to  the  result  of  the  strike 
vote.  This  information  will  be  announced  very  shortly,  just  as  soon  as 
the  Executive  Council  authorizes  me  to  do  so,  and  the  matter  is  now 
before  them. 

Relative  to  men  being  released  to  accept  employment  on  fair  roads, 
I  advise  that  every  man  that  can  be  spared,  be  permitted  to  leave,  and 
those  released  should  be  pledged  to  help  the  men  who  remain,  by  con- 
tributing at  least  a  day's  pay  per  month.  We  must  make  every  effort 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  57 

to  keep  up  an  active  and  effective  picket  line.  I  know  just  what  you 
will  think  when  you  read  this;  you  won't  thank  me  any  for  saying  what 
I  have,  but  I  have  been  thru  the  mill.  Experience  is  a  dear  teacher,  but 
an  effective  one.  Nobody  on  earth  can  win  these  strikes  but  the  men 
on  the  job. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

A.  O.  WHAETON, 

President. 

P.  S.  I  have  given  nothing  out  to  the  press  since  Executive  Board 
meeting,  and  have  nothing  to  deny. 

Now  that  we  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Wharton's 
private  opinions,  we  are  in  a  position  to  determine  how  enthu- 
siastically he  carried  out  the  spirit  of  the  April  convention  at 
Kansas  City,  which  approved  of  the  general  strike  program  as 
a  possible  means  to  settle  the  strikes  in  progress. 

Mr.  Wharton,  as  indicated  in  this  letter,  has  found  a  solu- 
tion for  future  strikes  "by  performing  the  thinking  before  the 
strike  instead  of  afterwards."  We  have  it,  then,  direct  from 
Mr.  Wharton  that  the  General  Presidents  and  the  Machinist's 
Convention  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  who  sanctioned  the  strike  and 
who  were  responsible  for  its  existence,  had  overlooked  the  im- 
portance of  doing  any  "thinking."  In  this  statement  Mr. 
Wharton  does  not  pay  very  high  respect  to  the  International 
Presidents,  or  even  himself,  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Wharton  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  delegates  to  the  Davenport  Convention 
of  the  Machinists,  which  ordered  the  strike  to  take  place. 
There  is  no  record  in  the  proceedings  of  this  convention  where 
Mr.  Wharton  called  his  attention  to  this  convention  that  the 
strikes  could  be  averted  by  the  application  of  "thinking."  If 
Mr.  Wharton  at  that  time  had  any  thoughts  on  the  subject  of 
the  strike,  he  must  have  been  afraid  to  express  them  for  fear 
it  would  injure  his  political  aspirations. 

Mr.  Wharton  makes  it  very  plain  that  if  the  strikes  are  to 
be  won,  it  is  up  to  the  men  on  the  line  to  win  them.  I  desire 
to  call  your  special  attention  to  this  statement  in  Mr.  Whar- 
ton's letter,  for  we  shall  learn  later  on  that  when  the  strikers 
made  an  effort  to  depend  on  themselves  rather  than  Grand  Lodge 


58  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

officers  as  a  possible  means  of  winning  the  strikes,  these  Grand 
Lodge  officers  opposed  them  in  this  undertaking;  and  even 
Mr.  Wharton  rendered  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  his  co-opera- 
tion in  preventing  the  strikers  from  carrying  out  an  effective 
program  by  the  application  of  their  own  efforts  on  the  line,  or 
the  very  spirit  of  Mr.  Wharton's  statement,  as  he  stated  that 
"If  the  strikes  are  to  be  won,  they  must  be  won  by  the  men 
on  the  line  themselves." 

Special  meetings  of  the  strikers  were  called  at  many  points 
on  the  struck  lines  for  to  take  action  on  Mr.  Wharton's  letter. 
Ringing  resolutions  came  from  Portland,  Ore. ;  Chicago, 
Memphis,  New  Orleans,  Freeport,  111. ;  Oakland,  Cal.,  of  about 
the  same  nature  as  the  following : 

"Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  July  27th,  1912.  We,  the  committee  of  all 
crafts  appointed  at  a  regular  mass  meeting  assembled  at  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.,  on  July  27th,  1912,  were  authorized  to  draft  up  a  circular  letter, 
condemning  the  expressions  of  the  personal  views  of  A.  O.  Wharton, 
President  of  the  Federation  of  Federations,  and  denouncing  the  stand 
he  has  taken  on  this  matter.  Wharton's  circular  letter  comes  as  a  great 
disappointment  to  the  rank  and  file  at  this  point  as  we  hoped  for  better 
things  from  a  man  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Federation  of  Fed- 
erations. What  the  rank  and  file  at  this  point  want  to  know,  is  our 
lately  elected  President  of  the  Federation  of  Federations  loyal  to  the 
members,  or  is  he  a  traitor?  Signed,  J.  W.  Eruhandt,  F.  R.  Parsons, 
G.  H.  Henry,  S.  S.  Rochell,  J.  M.  Easterwood,  S.  Forchan,  C.  R. 
Chilmers,  Federated  Committee." 

After  the  excitement  of  this  letter  was  over,  both  Mr. 
Wharton  and  the  strikers  had  learned  something.  The  strik- 
ers had  found  out  just  where  Mr.  Wharton,  the  man  in  whom 
they  placed  their  utmost  confidence,  stood  in  regard  to  the 
strike  situation.  Mr.  Wharton  learned  that  he,  at  least,  could 
not  put  anything  like  that  over  without  a  protest  from  the 
men  on  the  line. 

On  July  29,  1912,  all  the  General  Presidents  had  arrived 
in  St.  Louis  to  re-draft  the  letter  that  Mr.  Wharton  had 
drafted  on  the  20th,  which  they  would  not  approve  of.  Here 
they  were.  Some  of  them  came  1,000  miles  so  that  they  could 
get  together  in  drafting  a  polished  letter  to  the  men  on  the  line 
and  tell  them  how  much  they  regretted  that  the  strike  vote 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE 


59 


did  not  carry  (?)  and  that  they  were  451  votes  short  of  having 
the  constitutional  majority  of  75%,  which  was  the  mar- 
gin necessary  to  declare  a  general  strike.  That  was  all  the 
information  the  men  on  the  line  wanted.  They,  of  course, 
knew  it,  but  wanted  to  get  it  officially  or  from  some  other  source 
than  through  the  railroad  officials. 

They  federated  in  sending  out  this  letter  of  July  29,  as 
they  had  in  some  other  cases  when  they  wanted  to  get  the  best 
possible  results  for  themselves.  This  was  a  case  where  the 
leading  lights,  the  highest  priced  men  of  their  organizations, 
six  or  seven  of  them,  spent  a  week  and  traveling  expenses  to 
draw  up  a  common  ordinary  letter  which  the  average  six-dollar- 
a-week  Sears,  Roebuck  stenographer  could  compose  and  write 
at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  or  more  a  day.  Here  stood  an  army 
of  men  on  strike  in  the  West  depending  upon  them  to  carry 
out  their  already  forgotten  promise — the  promise  to  put  up  a 
fight. 

At  the  St.  Louis  meeting  of  July  29,  1912,  the  strike  vote 
was  tabulated.  The  following  was  the  report  rendered  by  the 
General  Presidents,  showing  the  strike  vote  as  tabulated  of 
the  different  crafts: 

MEMORANDUM 


STRIKE    VOTE 


Organization 

CO 
ID 

o 

fc 

"rt  w 
«->  w 

0    0) 

HO 

"3 
a 

Membe 
Voting 

C  £* 
So 

^1  H 

0) 

Blacksmiths    

1,424 
2,524 
4,336 
4,693 
375 
108 
121 
246 
No  vote 

711       2,134 
1,080      3,604 
2,485       6,821 
1,975       6,668 
140         515 
103         211 
64          185 
183         429 
received 

4,134 
5,000 
11,000 
12,349 
800 
325 
335 
429 

2,000 
1,396 
4,179 
5,681 
285 
114 
150 

li 

120  § 

248 
31 

779 

32 

2 
40 

Boilermakers    

Machinists   

Carmen  

Sheet  Metal  Workers. 
Painters    

Railway  Clerks   ...... 

Pattern  Makers  

Total 13,826     6,741     20,567     34,372     13,805     401 }     853 

Majority  opposed  to  strike 451§ 


60  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

But  let  us  throw  a  little  more  light  on  this  important  sub- 
ject of  the  general  strike  vote  and  introduce  further  evidence 
that  will  substantiate  the  charges  I  have  made  that  certain 
Grand  Lodge  officers  were  working  overtime  in  the  undercur- 
rent against  this  general  strike  vote  in  1912.  In  doing  this  I 
am  introducing  evidence  direct  from  the  records  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Machinists,  as  guaranteed  to  be  cor- 
rect under  the  signature  of  Geo.  Preston,  who  at  that  time 
served  the  Association  as  General  Secretary  and  who  is  respon- 
sible for  the  following  document  when  requested  for  a  copy 
of  the  Executive  Board  minutes  of  June  10,  1912. 


FROM  ORIGINAL  TYPEWRITTEN  COPY  OF  BOARD  MINUTES 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  JUNE  10,  1912 

ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  AND  HARRIMAN  LINES  STRIKE 

The  Int'l  Pres.  reviewed  the  course  taken  by  him  at  the  Kansas 
City  Convention  in  connection  with  the  formation  of  a  Federation  of 
Federations,  and  supplied  each  member  of  the  Board  with  a  copy  of  the 
minutes  of  that  meeting,  which  reached  him  only  a  few  days  ago.  Fur- 
ther stated  that  Bro.  A.  O.  Wharton,  anticipating  the  work  of  the  Kan- 
sas City  gathering,  had  drawn  up  a  sample  constitution,  which  after  some 
discussion  and  slight  amendment  had  been  adopted,  resulting  in  the 
saving  of  a  large  amount  of  time  of  the  delegates  there  assembled. 

In  connection  with  the  strike  vote  ordered  taken  by  the  Convention 
he  drew  attention  to  Resolution  No.  5  printed  on  page  13  of  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Convention  of  the  Federation  of  Federations,  which 
reads  as  follows: 

"WHEREAS,  The  crafts  composing  the  Federation  of  Railroad  Em- 
ployees on  the  M.,  K.  &  T.,  Illinois  Central,  and  the  Harriman  Lines 
have  been  on  strike  for  the  past  seven  (7)  months  and  are  still  on 
strike  fighting  for  the  recognition  of  our  Order,  and, 

WHEREAS,  These  roads  are  members  of  the  General  Managers'  As- 
sociation and  have  the  backing  both  morally  and  financially  of  that 
organization,  and 

WHEREAS,  Our  members  are  still  at  work  upon  roads  that  are 
contributing  financially  and  hauling  freight  that  was  formerly  handled 
by  these  roads;  therefore, 

Be  It  Resolved,  That  a  ballot  be  ordered  spread  upon  every  rail- 
road represented  in  this  Convention,  and  that  the  members  be  requested 
to  vote  upon  the  following  questions: 

First:  Shall  we  demand  a  Federation  agreement  similar  to  the 
one  now  being  requested  upon  the  Harriman  Lines  and  Illinois  Central. 

Second:  Shall  we  demand  settlement  of  the  strike  now  in  progress? 

And  Be  It  Further  Resolved,  That  this  ballot  be  spread  upon  the 
Chicago  &  Great  Western  and  the  Santa  Fe  Railroads." 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  61 

And  in  connection  with  said  resolution  he  had  divided  the  proposi- 
tion as  submitted  in  Circular  No.  13,  sent  out  by  him  from  Washington 
April  30.  He  explained  that  the  general  officers  who  were  in  attend- 
ance at  the  Convention  had  upon  adjournment  drawn  up  a  uniform 
letter  which  had  been  sent  out  by  each  organization  to  its  respective 
membership  for  a  vote  on  the  strike;  that  ballots  had  been  distributed 
accordingly,  returned  direct  to  him,  and  had  resulted  in  a  vote  as 
counted  by  him  of  4,336  in  favor  and  2,485  against  the  adoption  of  the 
proposition. 

Under  the  Constitution  adopted  by  the  Federation  of  Federations 
a  majority  vote  of  the  membership  was  required,  and  under  the  con- 
stitution of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  a  three-fourths  vote  was  necessary.  He 
pointed  out  that  while  our  Davenport  Convention  had  gone  on  record 
as  being  in  favor  of  system  federation  it  had  not  authorized  such  fed- 
eration to  in  any  way  abrogate  our  constitution,  or  to  make  our  organi- 
zation subordinate  to  any  decision  that  might  be  arrived  at  by  such 
organization. 

Bro.  Wharton  being  present,  explained  that  he  had  heard  from 
the  Blacksmiths,  who  had  recorded  a  vote  of  1,429  in  favor  and  693 
against.  The  constitution  of  that  organization  called  for  a  two-thirds 
vote,  so  that  said  vote  indicated  15  beyond  the  necessary  two-thirds.  The 
Painters  had  recorded  their  vote  at  108  in  favor  and  103  against.  The 
reports  of  other  organizations  affected  were  not  completed. 

Bro.  Nicholson  requested  information  on  the  character  of  the  vote, 
whether  in  counting  results  the  vote  of  each  organization  would  be  con- 
sidered as  a  whole  or  in  accordance  with  the  constitution  of  the  respec- 
tive organizations;  also  inquiring  what  significance  the  majority  for 
and  against  as  declared  by  each  organization  would  have  in  the  final 
count.  Bro.  Wharton  explained  that  in  drawing  up  the  sample  consti- 
tution which  had  been  adopted  by  the  convention  he  had  provided  for  the 
questions  propounded  by  Bro.  Nicholson,  and  read  sections  of  the  con- 
stitution, showing  that  each  organization  should  take  its  own  vote  in 
its  own  way  and  be  governed  by  its  constitution,  whether  a  two-thirds, 
three-fourths,  or  any  other  proportion  was  required  by  them;  that  the 
majority  for  or  against  the  propositions  would  be  tabulated  in  the  final 
wind-up,  the  intention  being  that  after  each  organization  had  tabulated 
its  vote  in  accordance  with  its  laws  the  number  of  votes  over  or  under 
the  required  constitutional  majority  would  be  totaled,  those  coming  under 
the  required  majority  being  compiled  as  a  total  negative  vote,  and 
those  over  the  required  majority  counted  as  those  in  the  affirmative, 
and  a  majority  of  this  vote  would  be  considered  as  the  action  of  the 
federation,  giving  each  organization  the  representation  to  whi^h  it  Is 
entitled,  as  near  as  possible  in  accordance  with  its  membership. 

The  International  President  announced  that  he  had  used  every  en- 
deavor to  prevent  a  general  strike  being  called  and  would  continue  to 
work  on  those  lines,  believing  that  our  present  financial  conditions,  gen- 
eral trade  prospects  and  other  considerations  at  this  time  would  tend  to 
render  the  likelihood  of  such  a  strike  being  successful  doubtful.  Bro. 
Wharton  endorsed  the  sentiments  of  the  International  President  in  their 
entirety. 

Signed  (Correct) 

GEO.  PRESTON,  G.  S.  T., 

I.  A.  of  M. 


62  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We  have  now  made  our  case,  as  far  as  showing  up  the  atti- 
tude of  President  Johnston  of  the  Machinists  and  President 
Wharton  of  the  Federation  in  relation  to  the  general  strike, 
complete,  and  it  will  be  well  to  remember  that  both  of  these 
gentlemen  were  at  this  convention  in  Kansas  City  on  April  15, 
1912,  and  at  this  convention  fell  in  line  with  the  general  strike 
resolution  No.  5  and  stepped  into  the  band-wagon  with  the 
ultra  radical  element  of  the  convention. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton  was  elected  as  President  of  the  Federa- 
tion at  this  convention  of  April  15,  1912,  as  the  candidate  of 
the  radicals,  and  that  he  was  double-crossing  his  best  friends 
at  this  convention  is  fully  substantiated  in  the  foregoing 
document,  which  is  the  minutes  of  the  Machinists'  Executive 
Board,  inasmuch  as  the  minutes  stated  that : 

"Brother  Wharton  endorsed  the  sentiments  of  the  International 
President  in  their  entirety." 

And  International  President  W.  H.  Johnston  of  the  Ma- 
chinists is  quoted  in  the  minutes  as  conveying  the  following 
sentiments : 

The  International  President  announced  that  he  had  used,  every  en- 
deavor to  prevent  a  general  strike  being  called  and  would  continue  to 
work  on  those  lines,  believing  that  our  present  financial  conditions,  gen- 
eral trade  prospects  and  other  considerations  at  this  time  would  tend  to 
render  the  likelihood  of  such  strike  being  successful  doubtful. 

President  Johnston  was  also  elected  as  President  of  the 
Machinists  as  the  progressive  and  radical  candidate.  However, 
these  records  will  indicate  that  he  did  not  give  the  Association 
the  service  that  would  be  rendered  by  a  "dyed-in-the-wool  con- 
servative," for  he  not  only  "double-crossed"  that  element  in 
the  Association  that  made  him  President  in  1911,  but  deserted 
the  entire  membership  of  the  Association  after  this  Kansas  City 
convention  of  April  15,  1912.  You  must  keep  uppermost  in 
your  mind  that  this  convention  indorsed  the  general  strike 
proposition  "without  a  dissenting  vote,"  and  general  strike 
resolution  No.  5  was  adopted  by  the  delegates  to  this  conven- 
tion unanimously.  We  then  find  that  if  it  is  the  duty  of 


THE  GENERAL  STRIKE  VOTE  63 

Grand  Lodge  officers  to  carry  out  the  wishes  and  instructions 
of  the  rank  and  file  which  they  are  elected  to  serve,  it  then 
became  the  duty  of  Mr.  Johnston  and  Mr.  Wharton,  as  well 
as  all  other  Grand  Lodge  officers,  to  carry  out  the  specifica- 
tions as  outlined  in  general  strike  resolution  No.  5  adopted 
by  the  delegates  of  this  Kansas  City  convention. 

If,  however,  the  decision  of  the  delegates  at  this  convention 
interfered  with  the  individual  opinions  of  Mr.  Johnston  and 
Mr.  Wharton,  it  was  their  full  duty  to  so  notify  the  conven- 
tion in  session  and  resign  as  general  officers,  thereby  giving 
the  convention  an  opportunity  to  elect  someone  that  would 
carry  out  the  decisions  of  this  convention.  But  as  their 
motives  from  the  very  beginning  were  "impure,"  they  said 
nothing  at  this  convention  that  would  indicate  their  insincerity, 
and  the  fact  that  they  were  to  leave  this  convention  on  a  mis- 
sion of  "double-crossing"  by  going  out  to  work  diametrically 
opposite  to  the  instructions  and  decisions  rendered  by  the  con- 
vention, as  I  have  proven  by  the  already  quoted  Machinists' 
executive  minutes. 

We  find  included  in  the  minutes  of  the  Machinists'  Execu- 
tive Board  a  statement  in  the  last  portion  of  the  paragraph 
following  resolution  No.  5,  which  reads  as  follows : 

He  explained  that  the  general  officers  who  were  in  attendance  at 
the  convention  had  upon  adjournment  drawn  up  a  uniform  letter, 
which  had  been  sent  out  by  each  organization  to  its  membership  for  a 
vote  on  the  strike;  that  ballots  had  been  distributed  accordingly,  re- 
turned "direct  to  him"  and  had  resulted  in  a  vote  as  "Counted  by  him" 
of  4,336  in  favor  and  2,485  against  the  adoption  of  the  proposition. 

We  can  also  understand  from  these  minutes  that  this  party 
that  is  quoted  as  "him"  is  the  International  President  of  the 
Machinists — W.  H.  Johnston.  Note  the  fact  that  the  bal- 
lots were  returned  direct  to  "him"  and  counted  by  "him,"  and 
as  it  was  a  secret  vote,  the  result  of  this  vote  in  a  local  lodge 
was  not  even  known  to  the  officers  or  members  of  such  local 
lodge ;  therefore,  there  was  only  one  man  who  knew  what  the 
strike  vote  in  the  Machinists'  organization  resulted  in,  and 
that  was  this  party  quoted  as  "him" — President  Johnston  of 


64  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  Machinists — the  very  gentleman  who  these  same  minutes 
have  credited  as  stating  that  he  had  worked  against  the  general 
strike  proposition  and  would  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future. 

What  evidence  have  we  to  set  forth  that  the  Machinists' 
organization  was  not  "double-crossed"  in  the  counting  of  the 
ballots  in  the  general  strike  proposition  by  this  party  quoted 
as  "him"  who  counted  the  ballots  ?  None  whatever ;  but  we 
have  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that  this  same  party — "him" 
— double-crossed  the  Machinists  and  the  Federation  in  general 
by  the  failure  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  Kansas  City  con- 
vention in  respect  to  general  strike  resolution  No.  5.  What, 
then,  could  we  expect  from  this  same  party  in  relation  to  the 
counting  of  the  ballots  ?  Is  it  not  possible  that  this  strike  vote 
was  given  the  "Tammany  cut"  and  judged  to  comply  with 
individual  opinions?  This  is  possible,  providing  Secretary 
Preston's  document,  guaranteed  as  correct,  can  be  accepted 
as  the  truth,  which  indicates  that  the  ballots  were  returned 
direct  to  this  party  quoted  as  "him"  and  counted  by  "him." 

The  large  vote  in  opposition  to  the  general  strike  vote  in 
the  Machinists'  organization  certainly  seems  to  substantiate 
the  charges  I  have  made  against  the  politicians  and  machine 
within  the  Machinists'  organization  in  relation  to  their  under- 
handed method  and  trickery  during  this  time  when  the  strike 
vote  was  taken.  The  fact  that  these  emissaries  bagged  2,485 
votes  in  their  favor  proved  that  the  machine  was  well  oiled  up 
for  the  occasion,  and  the  worthy  brothers  delivered  the  goods 
in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines  and  their  aggregation  of  strikebreakers. 


PART  II 

INDISPUTABLE  EVIDENCE  SHOWING 
THE  ATTITUDE  OF  CERTAIN  GRAND 
LODGE  OFFICERS  AND  ORGANIZERS 
RELATIVE  TO  THE  MEN  ON  STRIKE 
AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  FEDERA- 
TION. 

THE  PALMY  DAYS  OF  JACK  BUCKALEW 

BEFORE  the  official  results  of  the  general  strike  vote 
had  reached  the  men,  only  three  of  the  International 
organizations  were  paying  strike  benefits.    These  were 
the  Machinists,  Blacksmiths  and  Boilermakers.     The  other 
organizations  had  cut  off  their  financial  support  to  the  men 
on  strike. 

The  Machinists  had  reduced  their  constitutional  strike 
benefits  from  $8  a  week  to  $6  per  week.  The  men  having 
learned  that  the  general  strike  vote  failed  to  carry,  and  unable 
to  pay  house  rent  and  send  their  kiddies  to  school  on  $6  per 
week,  were  forced  to  seek  employment  elsewhere.  Conditions 
finally  developed  into  such  a  condition  of  affairs  that  at  some 
points  there  was  not  a  man  on  the  picket  line.  The  situation 
was  getting  in  such  shape  that  someone,  some  place,  had  to 
shake  the  grates  to  keep  the  furnace  alive  or  the  chiefs  would 
accomplish  their  purpose  of  starving  the  men  off  the  line, 
which  seemed  to  be  the  agreement  made  between  some  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers.  The  pass  word  was  "keep  the  money" 
from  them  and  then  it  will  "peter  out."  J.  F.  McCreery,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation,  was  not  doing  anything 
to  oil  up  the  machine,  and  E.  L.  Requin,  President  of  the  Harri- 

65 


66  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

man  Lines  Federation,  was  playing  the  same  invisible  drama. 
They  were  both  well  meaning  fellows,  but  lacked  the  sand  that 
was  necessary  to  keep  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  from  allowing 
the  movement  to  die  out. 

John  D.  Buckalew,  a  veteran  of  many  strikes  and  Vice 
President  of  the  Machinists  assigned  to  the  Illinois  Central, 
had  trouble  in  keeping  his  machinists'  district  alive  and  couldn't 
raise  enough  money  to  pay  the  salary  of  Business  Agent  Mol- 
loy  out  of  the  district.  Handling  a  strike,  however,  on  a  craft 
district  basis  was  as  much  in  violation  of  what  is  termed  fed- 
eration as  it  would  have  been  if  Mr.  Buckalew  signed  up  an 
agreement  between  the  Illinois  Central  and  his  district  No. 
21  while  the  strike  was  on.  He,  like  the  rest  of  them,  had 
handled  so  many  individual  craft  strikes  that  now  he  was  in 
a  federated  movement  and  in  a  federated  strike,  he  could  not 
get  out  of  the  old  rut  of  doing  business,  and  so  there  was  this 
old  struggle  for  existence  which  disregards  co-operation. 

At  the  inception  of  the  strike,  and  for  a  couple  of  months 
after,  Buckalew  had  been  successful  in  getting  one  thousand 
per  month  for  his  district.  Here  in  July,  1912,  his  secretary, 
Mr.  W.  A.  Newman,  in  his  report  gave  his  receipts  at  $283.11, 
which  made  short  capital  to  maintain  an  office  on,  pay  secre- 
taries and  business  agent  salaries,  traveling  expenses,  etc. 
This  left  no  margin  for  what  is  necessary  to  "keep  the  scabs 
moving  with,"  let  alone  strike  benefits  to  men  on  the  line,  and 
the  men  on  the  line  were  getting  mighty  scarce  at  this  time. 

The  week  before  the  Kansas  City  Convention,  April  15-23, 
inclusive,  1912,  I  wrote  an  article  on  the  general  strike  and 
sent  it  to  the  Liberator  at  Sedalia,  Mo.,  for  publication.  It 
was  published  in  Vol.  2,  No.  34,  of  the  Liberator  under  the 
caption  "What  Will  They  Do  ?"  and  got  the  first  two  columns 
on  the  front  page  of  the  issue  that  was  distributed  among  the 
delegates  in  Kansas  City.  Buckalew  was  a  strong  advocate  of 
the  general  strike  and  rather  liked  the  rough  edges  that  the 
article  was  trimmed  with.  He  therefore  decided  to  drop  around 
for  a  friendly  call  on  one  of  his  tours  of  the  corn-belt. 


67 

After  he  saw  that  I  was  neither  chained  up  nor  wore  ear- 
rings, but  cut  my  hair  and  wore  trousers  like  the  rest  of  the 
animals,  he  sat  down  and  chatted  about  the  things  that  hap- 
pened to  happen.  Mr.  Buckalew  was  more  than  dissatisfied 
with  the  situation,  and  as  yet  was  full  of  "Pep  and  ginger." 
He  said  that  his  secretary,  Mr.  W.  A.  Newman,  had  gone  to 
work,  and  he  needed  an  active  man  that  could  devote  his  time 
to  the  movement  as  his  secretary,  and  this  position  he  offered  to 
me.  I  thanked  him  for  the  honor  bestowed  in  the  offer  of  a 
seat  in  his  cabinet,  but  I  instantly  declined.  After  he  left, 
however,  I  rather  took  a  liking  to  the  colonel  with  his  western 
style  combined  with  a  frequent  touch  of  Boston  refinement. 

Some  time  after  Mr.  Buckalew  of  the  Machinists  paid  me 
this  visit,  he  wrote  me  several  letters  advising  that  he  had  a 
vacancy  in  his  cabinet,  and  requested  that  I  should  give  him 
permission  to  make  the  appointment. '  The  following  letter 
speaks  for  itself : 

INTERNATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   MACHINISTS 

CHICAGO,  June  14,  1912. 
ME.  C.  E.  PERSON, 

Box  No.  32,  Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir:  In  all  strikes  of  any  duration  that  I  have  handled  before, 
I  have  always  had  what  we  call  a  statistician,  a  position  that  carries 
with  it  quite  a  lot  of  work,  and  I  would  like  very  much  for  you  to 
accept  the  position  on  the  I.  C.  I  am  asking  this  at  this  time  because  the 
bulletin  you  are  getting  out  seems  to  be  the  right  kind  and  well  liked 
by  the  men.  Therefore,  I  am  sending  out  a  circular  to  machinists  at 
all  points  to  send  you  the  shop  conditions  and  conditions  of  the  strike 
at  their  point  three  times  a  week.  You  then  can  compile  the  different 
reports  and  send  out  a  bulletin  of  all  points  on  the  lines  instead  of  just 
from  Clinton,  as  you  are  now  doing. 

Let  me  know  at  once  if  you  can  afford  to  do  this. 

I  have  no  news  as  yet  from  the  strike  vote  of  the  West,  only  what 
I  got  from  another  organization,  and  that  is  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  will  be  in  St.  Louis,  June  23rd,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
this  strike  situation. 

Write  me,  106  N.  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.  D.    BUCKALEW, 

Int.  Vice  Pres. 


68  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

To  which  I  replied : 

June  15,  1912. 
Mr.  J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 

106  N.  La  Salle  St., 
Chicago,    111. 

Dear  Sir  &  Brother:  Your  letter  of  recent  date  to  hand  and  con- 
tents fully  noted.  Will  say  in  response  to  same  that  if  there  is  any- 
thing that  I  can  do  for  the  interest  of  the  movement,  I  am  only  too 
willing  to  render  my  humble  service. 

However,  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  that  would  make  anyone 
feel  that  I  was  intruding  on  them.  If  I  can  compile  the  reports  from 
the  different  points  without  traveling  over  the  jurisdictional  lines  of 
anyone  else,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  concerned,  I  shall  consider 
it  a  pleasure  to  comply  with  your  postulation. 

With  many  good  wishes  for  an  effective  fight  to  the  finish,  I  beg  to 
remain, 

Yours  for  victory  and  federation, 

(Signed)  CAHL  E.  PEBSOK. 

On  the  29th  of  July,  1912,  several  strangers  were  seen 
stepping  off  from  the  "Southern  Express."  They  found 
their  way  to  the  "rebels'  camp"  and  pushed  open  the  door 
without  sending  their  cards  in  as  a  preliminary  introduction. 
There  were  Mr.  John  D.  Buckalew,  his  business  manager,  Mr. 
H.  J.  Molloy,  Mr.  W.  A.  Newman,  secretary,  and  Mr.  M. 
Hawver,  President  of  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  with  sev- 
eral other  members  of  the  cabinet  who  served  the  district  in  the 
capacity  of  Executive  Board  members.  After  an  acquaint- 
ance had  been  established,  a  little  satchel  was  placed  on  exhibi- 
tion. This  was  introduced  as  the  corpse  of  District  No.  21, 
I.  A.  of  M. 

About  the  same  time  a  communication  arrived  from  New 
Orleans,  the  office  of  W.  E.  Bowen,  Secretary  of  the  Illinois 
Central  System  Federation,  stating  that  his  weekly  news  letter 
to  the  strikers  would  have  to  be  discontinued  for  the  want  of 
one-cent  postage  stamps.  The  "chiefs"  were  about  to  realize 
their  dreams.  The  ship  was  about  to  go  under.  Conditions 
on  the  Harriman  Lines  were  about  the  same.  Mr.  Wm.  Han- 
non  of  the  Machinists  on  the  Pacific  Lines  tried  to  get  a  con- 
vention for  Salt  Lake  to  centralize  the  movement  on  the  Harri- 
man Lines,  but  he  couldn't  get  it.  The  machinists'  organization, 


PALMY  DAYS  OF  JACK  BUCKALEW  69 

which  had  been  paying  $6  per  week,  had  now  run  several  months 
back  on  their  payments  and  attributed  its  condition  to  the 
shortage  of  funds. 

I  was  informed  by  Mr.  Buckalew  that  he  had  come  in  with 
his  cabinet  for  the  purpose  of  devising  some  method  for  its 
resurrection.  The  Machinists'  constitution  was  readily  placed 
under  the  microscope  and  all  of  the  cabinet  members  called  on 
to  come  forth  with  their  wisdom  as  profusely  as  possible.  The 
attention  was  called  to  the  cabinet  of  the  defection  from 
precedent  on  the  part  of  the  Grand  Lodge  office,  in  handling 
the  strike  funds,  and  the  following  article  of  the  constitution 
was  read  to  establish  such  authority. 

Article  7,  section  1,  Grand  Lodge  Constitution  for  1912, 
I.  A.  of  M.: 

The  revenue  of  the  Grand  Lodge  shall  be  derived  from  the  sale 
of  supplies,  per  capita  tax,  reinstatements,  initiations  and  income  from 
the  journal  and  such  assessments  as  may  be  levied  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  Machinists'  constitution  that 
authorized  the  Grand  Lodge  office  to  confiscate  voluntary 
assessments  and  donations  that  were  made  for  the  men  on 
strike.  If  the  Grand  Lodge  was  running  short  of  funds  to 
meet  their  constitutional  obligations,  such  as  paying  rent, 
office  expenses,  strike  benefits,  organizers  and  Grand  Lodge 
officers'  salaries,  then  section  1,  of  article  7, 1912,  Grand  Lodge 
constitution  informed  them  how  this  revenue  could  be  raised. 
The  law  was  further  looked  up  and  it  was  found  that  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  not  complying  with  its  duties,  as  specified  in 
constitution  governing  the  local  lodges,  under  caption  of  "Vol- 
untary Donations,"  article  3,  section  7,  commencing  with  the 
line  3,  which  reads  as  follows : 

All  moneys  sent  for  financial  aid  from  one  lodge  for  another 
shall  be  sent  through  the  General  Secretary-Treasurer,  who  will  ac- 
knowledge receipt  of  same  in  the  following  monthly  financial  statement. 

After  a  day's  discussion  the  cabinet  of  the  Machinists' 
district  rendered  the  decision  that  the  Grand  Lodge  confiscated 
the  funds  which  were  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike,  by 


70  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

diverting  the  voluntary  assessments  and  donations  which  were 
made  for  the  men  on  strike  into  their  own  Grand  Lodge  treas- 
ury, for  the  purpose  of  meeting  their  own  constitutional  obli- 
gations, instead  of  complying  with  article  3,  section  7.  The 
Grand  Lodge  laid  in  waiting  for  these  donations  when  they 
were  coming  "through"  and  switched  them  to  the  "Grand 
Lodge"  treasury,  while  these  lodges  which  had  sent  this  money 
were  harboring  the  conception  that  their  strike  donations  were 
going  "through"  the  Grand  Lodge  O.  K. 

After  this  very  important  portion  of  International  law  had 
been  exhibited  to  the  cabinet  and  fully  discussed  by  them, 
Mr.  Jack  Buckalew  in  an  extended  speech,  that  not  only 
enthused  the  entire  cabinet  but  was  instrumental  in  inspiring 
his  business  manager,  the  distinguished  Mr.  H.  J.  Molloy,  to 
come  forward  with  a  motion  to  declare  war  on  the  Grand  Lodge 
office  of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists.  The  entire 
cabinet  concurred  in  the  declaration:  "Declare  war  on  them 
for  confiscating  the  money  which  was  the  property  of  the  men 
on  strike." 

Several  circular  letters  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  office  soliciting  assessments  and  donations  in  the  name 
of  the  "Men  on  Strike,"  such  as  official  circular  No.  10,  pub- 
lished on  pages  292  and  293  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for 
March,  1912,  calling  attention  to  the  worthy  cause  the  men 
were  on  strike  for,  and  requesting  local  lodges  to  levy  an 
assessment  for  them.  Many  lodges  throughout  the  country 
complied  with  the  request,  assessed  themselves  and  made  dona- 
tions, but  instead  of  the  receipts  going  to  the  men  on  strike  as 
specified  in  circular  No.  10,  the  receipts  were  diverted  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  treasury,  and  from  there  drawn  on  to  feed  the 
different  departments  that  depend  on  the  Grand  Lodge  treas- 
ury for  their  existence.  Those  who  had  put  on  assessments  and 
made  donations  had  done  so  because  they  realized  that  no  man 
could  remain  on  the  line  on  $6  per  week,  and  therefore  assessed 
themselves  that  additional  money  could  be  distributed  to  the 
men  on  strike. 


PALMY  DAYS  OF  JACK  BUCKALEW  71 

Mr.  Buckalew  explained  how  the  finances  were  handled  in 
the  Missouri  Pacific  strike  and  that  he  was  successful  in  keep- 
ing the  men  on  the  line  because  he  could  pay  them  sufficient  to 
warrant  them  staying  there,  and  in  no  other  strike  that  he  had 
ever  handled  were  the  donations  made  to  the  strikers  confiscated 
by  the  Grand  Lodge.  He  stated  that  "If  the  Grand  Lodge  ran 
short  of  funds  in  meeting  their  obligations,  such  as  paying 
constitutional  strike  benefits,  Grand  Lodge  officers'  salaries, 
etc.,  then  those  drawing  same  would  have  to  wait  for  them  until 
such  time  in  the  future  as  the  Grand  Lodge  could  make  such 
payments.  Inasmuch  as  they  were  constitutional  obligations 
the  Grand  Lodge  would  have  to  meet  them  in  the  future  when 
they  could  do  so,  but  that  the  Grand  Lodge  had  no  right  to 
confiscate  the  donations  made  for  the  men  on  strike." 

The  declarations  of  war  were  concurred  in  by  the  cabinet, 
and  they  started  to  find  someone  that  would  carry  out  their 
declarations. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Newman,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  had 
another  occupation  and  therefore  could  not  give  the  cabinet 
the  necessary  time  to  execute  its  new  determined  responsibili- 
ties. Therefore,  Mr.  Newman,  Mr.  L.  M.  Hawver,  President 
of  the  cabinet,  who  happened  to  be  a  gentleman  from  Water- 
loo, and  Business  Manager  H.  J.  Molloy,  a  very  eminent  par- 
liamentarian and  experienced  counsel  on  international  law; 
Mr.  P.  J.  Jensen,  a  cabinet  member  from  Chicago,  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  representative,  the  Hon.  J.  D.  Buckalew,  insisted 
and  demanded  that  I  serve  them  in  the  capacity  of  assistant 
to  the  secretary,  under  the  title  of  Strike  Secretary  for  Dis- 
trict No.  21, 1.  A.  of  M. 

I  had  of  course  about  lost  faith  in  mankind,  for  I  had 
taken  the  blue  prints  of  the  strike  from  its  inception  and  had 
studied  them  carefully  and  found  scarcely  anything  but  a 
servile  mob,  obedient  to  authority,  obedient  to  that  authority 
that  forces  slaves  to  dig  their  own  graves.  But  here  was  the 
movement  dead,  dead  all  over  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  points,  where  a  few  men 


72  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

were  able  to  hold  on.  And  dead  because  the  "chiefs"  were  able 
to  put  it  over,  put  it  over  as  never  before.  After  fully  con- 
sidering the  proposition  I  was  convinced  that  there  was  only 
one  chance  to  oil  up  the  movement,  and  that  was  through  the 
Machinists'  district.  Rather  than  to  see  the  movement  die  at 
this  time,  I  conceded  to  their  demands  and  requested  that  their 
declarations  of  war  on  the  Washington  office  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Machinists  be  placed  in  writing  and  signed  by 
all  the  cabinet  members,  so  that  if  they  fell  by  the  wayside,  or 
cried  in  the  storm,  they  could  not  declare  themselves  as  not 
being  the  charter  members  of  the  new  rebel  district  No.  21, 
I.  A.  of  M. 


THE  NEW  CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR 

Having  received  complaint  from  the  men  on  the  line,  the 
following  letter  was  sent  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Machinists  and 
reads  as  follows : 

August  2,  1913. 
MR.  GEO.  PEESTOK, 

402  McGill  Bldg., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Preston:  I  am  in  receipt  of  several  complaints  from  down 
the  line  that  the  boys  have  not  received  their  Grand  Lodge  benefits  for 
the  last  couple  of  weeks. 

Prompt  payments  of  the  few  dollars  that  the  boys  are  getting  from 
the  Association  is  essential  for  the  best  interest  of  our  movement,  and 
while  I  have  the  best  of  reasons  to  think  that  you  are  exerting  your 
efforts  to  this  end,  I  shall,  however,  appreciate  the  receipt  of  what- 
ever explanations  you  have  to  make  because  of  the  unnecessary  delay  on 
the  benefits.  I  beg  to  remain, 

Sincerely  yours, 

CAHL  E.  PERSOK. 

We  found  in  the  June  financial  statement  that  all  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  had  drawn  their  salaries  in  full,  and  there- 
fore felt  justified  in  calling  to  their  attention  that  those  on  the 
pay-roll  for  six  a  week  had  not  received  their  wages  regularly. 

Vice  President  Jack  Buckalew  of  the  Machinists  caused  to 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  73 

be  inserted  in  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  October,  1912,  page 
960,  paragraph  6,  the  following : 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Advisory  Board  of  District  No.  21, 
I.  A.  of  M.,  held  in  Clinton,  111.,  Carl  E.  Person,  Box  No.  32,  Clinton, 
111.,  was  elected  Assistant  Secretary-Treasurer  to  Mr.  Wm.  A.  Newman. 

In  getting  a  line-up  of  the  situation  over  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral a  letter  was  sent  out  to  determine  how  many  men  were 
still  devoting  their  time  to  the  picket  lines  at  the  different 
points  on  the  system,  and  the  following  letter  is  quoted  because 
of  the  fact  that  it  comes  from  Paducah,  Ky.,  and  from  the 
President  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation,  and  as  Mr. 
McCreery  will  for  some  time  play  an  important  part  in  this 
story,  therefore  I  wish  you  to  take  particular  notice  of  this 
letter,  which  reads  as  follows : 

FEDERATION  OF  RAILWAY  EMPLOYEES 

PADUCAH,  KY.,  Aug.  22,  1912. 
MR.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother: — I  am  sending  you  a  list  of  pickets  as  you 
reported.  Now,  brother,  these  are  the  men  picked  out  by  the  different 
locals  to  do  picket  work.  You  know  that  this  is  the  biggest  shop  out- 
side of  Burnside,  and  we  consider  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  use  this 
amount  of  men.  These  carmen  I  am  sending  you  the  names  of  are  doing 
active  picket  duty  and  I  wish  you  would  get  behind  Ryan  of  the  Carmen 
about  them.  I  have  taken  up  the  matter  with  him,  but  then  the  more 
we  push  such  matters,  the  better  results  we  get.  The  Carmen  have  got 
enough  money  to  keep  those  men  on  the  job  for  two  weeks  yet,  but  they 
are  only  paying  them  $5  per  week,  and  you  know  that  is  not  enough 
to  live  on.  The  other  pickets  are  holding  back  to  see  what  is  to  be  done, 
and,  of  course,  I  can't  promise  them  anything.  It  is  entirely  with  their 
own  organization  what  they  intend  to  do.  It  looks  like  to  me  that  all 
crafts  should  pool  their  money  and  use  it  to  maintain  picket  lines  only, 
and  stop  all  other  benefits,  and  that  will  force  the  men  that  do  not 
serve  on  the  picket  lines  to  get  out  and  get  a  job,  and  will  enable  us  to 
keep  good  men  on  the  picket  line. 

I  will  be  able  in  a  day  or  two  to  give  you  a  report  covering  the 
conditions  inside  the  shops.  I  am, 

Yours  sincerely  for  federation, 

F.  J.  MCCREERY, 
President   I.  C.  Federation. 

As  you  have  noted,  there  is  a  request  by  Mr.  McCreery 
in  his  letter  that  I  should  get  after  President  Ryan  of  the 


74  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Carmen  because  of  his  failure  to  look  after  his  men.  It  will  be 
well  to  remember  that  this  is  by  President  McCreery  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Federation,  and  indicates  that  there  is  not 
very  much  life  in  the  situation,  and  possibly  not  very  much 
steam  in  Mr.  McCreery ;  if  there  was,  he  would  have  started 
a  revolution  against  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  for  allowing 
the  movement  to  die  out  like  this.  In  a  letter  of  Sept.  9th,  after 
taking  the  matter  up  at  every  point  on  the  Illinois  Central 
System,  I  found  two  more  carmen  devoting  their  time  to  the 
strike  in  addition  to  the  seven  men  at  Paducah ;  therefore,  in 
my  letter  to  President  Ryan  I  called  his  attention  to  what  the 
situation  was  on  the  system  in  regard  to  his  organization.  The 
letter  reads  as  follows : 

CLINTON  LOCAL  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  SYSTEM  FEDERATION, 

PttOGKESS 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  September  9,  1912. 
MR.  M.  F.  RYAN, 

603  Hall  Bldg., 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother: — I  am  herewith  quoting  you  the  names  of 
several  of  your  men  of  the  Illinois  Central  strikers  who  are  still  on  the 
job  for  the  interest  of  the  movement.  These  men  are  more  than  entitled 
to  some  compensation,  for  they  are  devoting  their  time  to  the  cause.: 

M.  C.  Jenkins,  member  of  Union  No.  227,  Freeport,  111. 

Wm.  Blackburn,  member  of  Union  No.  291,  Carbondale,  111. 

Jno.  McCreery,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

Tom  Hausman,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

James  Markey,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

Feen  Lee,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

H.  W.  Cooksey,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

Ernest  Martin,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

E.  Lackey,  member  of  Union  No.  14,  Paducah,  Ky. 

There  is  not  any  of  these  men  receiving  strike  benefits  at  this  time, 
and  from  this  we  infer  that  your  organization  had  discontinued  paying 
strike  benefits  altogether  all  over  the  system. 

J.  F.  McCreery  of  Paducah,  Ky.,  President  of  the  Federation  and 
a  member  of  your  organization,  should  be  shown  some  consideration  by 
your  organization,  and  some  arrangements  should  be  made  with  him  for 
a  weekly  allowance,  sufficient  enough  to  live  on.  Also,  M.  C.  Jenkins  of 
Freeport.  He  is  also  an  active  man  in  this  movement  and  always  on 
the  job. 

I  am  asking  you  to  look  into  this  matter  and  see  what  you  can  do 
in  allowing  these  men  regular  strike  benefits.  In  the  event  that  you 
are  not  going  to  do  anything  for  these  men  I  would  thank  you  if  you 
would  advise  us  if  your  organization  is  contributing  financially  to  any 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  75 

point  on  the  struck  roads,  or  if  you  are  at  this  time  placing  money  at 
the  command  of  your  men  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

Hoping  that  you  will  comply  with  our  request  in  doing  something 
for  the  men  whose  names  I  have  quoted  you  in  this  letter,  and  that  you 
will  favor  me  with  an  early  reply,  I  am, 

Yours  for  victory, 

(Signed)         CARL  E.  PERSON. 

The  following  reply  arrived  from  President  Ryan  of  the 

Carmen : 

BROTHERHOOD  OF  RAILWAT  CARMEN 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  September  12,  1912. 
MR.  C.  E.  PERSON, 

Box  No.  32, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  September  9,  furnishing 
me  with  the  names  of  several  of  our  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  that 
are  active  in  the  present  strike  and  wanting  to  know  if  I  was  going  to 
do  anything  to  assist  them  financially,  received,  and  contents  fully  noted. 
In  reply,  therefore,  will  say  that  I  have  been  assisting  financially  all 
of  our  lodges  on  the  Illinois  Central  in  so  far  as  the  Grand  Lodge  was 
able  to  do  so,  and  it  is  my  intention  to  continue  to  assist  them  further 
to  the  full  extent  and  limit  of  our  financial  resources. 

Trusting  that  this  information  will  be  satisfactory  and  with  best 
wishes  for  success,  I  remain, 

Yours  fraternally, 

M.  J.  RYAN, 
MFR-C  General  President. 

Mr.  Ryan  in  the  above  letter  does  not  mention  that  he  is 
placing  any  money  anywhere,  and  it  can  be  so  understood.  He, 
however,  says  that  he  will  give  his  men  whatever  financial  sup- 
port he  can,  which  indicated  nothing  at  the  time.  This  condi- 
tion of  affairs  forced  his  men  to  go  to  work  elsewhere,  and 
left  none  of  them  to  speak  of  on  the  system  for  strike  duty. 

These  letters  are  published  here  as  a  matter  of  record. 
After  we  get  further  into  the  circus,  subsequent  performances 
can  be  better  understood  by  knowing  the  conditions  prevailing 
at  this  time  in  the  Carmen's  organization  and  the  attitude  of 
Mr.  McCreery,  as  well  as  conditions  in  Paducah  under  his 
immediate  supervision. 

The  following  letter  is  from  Mr.  W.  E.  Bowen,  who  was  at 
this  period  of  the  strike  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Central  Sys- 
tem Federation. 


76  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

NEW  ORLEANS,  LA.,  August  15,  1912. 
MB.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  My  delay  in  answering  your  communica- 
tion of  the  9th  inst.  was  occasioned  by  my  desire  to  secure  the  proper 
material  to  do  the  picket  duty  as  set  forth  in  your  letter,  and  I  might 
say  that  I  have  not  as  yet  secured  the  men  I  would  like  to  have.  How- 
ever, I  have  one  and  will  soon  have  the  other  and  you  can  depend  on 
New  Orleans  having  two  on  the  list,  so  if  you  have  many  returns  and 
are  prepared  to  submit  the  proposition,  why  go  ahead,  but  I  have  my 
doubts  about  the  ability  of  the  Grand  Lodge  being  able  to  finance  the 
proposition  as  submitted.  In  my  opinion  it  is  a  wise  move,  as  it  can 
hardly  be  expected  for  men  to  remain  on  the  picket  line  at  this  stage 
of  the  game  without  some  compensation. 

Go  to  it,  brother,  and  try  and  make  a  success  of  it. 

Fraternally  yours, 

W.  E.  BOWEN, 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

Mr.  Bowen's  letter  is  a  reply  to  a  circular  letter  which 
requests  him  to  arrange  for  pickets  at  New  Orleans.  However, 
this  letter  is  only  in  the  records  so  that  you  will  understand 
Mr.  Bowen's  attitude  regarding  the  strike,  and  our  new  effort 
to  handle  the  strike.  You  will  meet  Mr.  Bowen  later  on  in  the 
story. 

Mr.  L.  M.  Hawver,  President  of  the  new  war  cabinet, 
wrote  a  letter  to  President  Johnston  of  the  Machinists  request- 
ing that  all  donations  to  the  men  on  strike  be  forwarded  to 
them  through  the  districts.  Mr.  Hawver's  letter  to  President 
Johnston  reads  as  follows: 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  September  7,  1912. 
MR.  WILLIAM  JOHNSTON, 

402  McGill  Building, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  September  4  to  hand  and 
contents  fully  noted.  Will  say  in  response  to  same  that  inasmuch  as 
our  district  has  arrived  in  a  critical  condition  as  far  as  finance  is  con- 
cerned, we  are  forced  to  issue  our  circular  letter  of  appeal  for  aid. 

I  had  a  conference  with  Buckalew  and  it  was  agreed  that  some 
fifty-five  men  can  handle  the  situation  on  the  Illinois  Central  at  this 
time;  however,  in  order  to  arrange  and  keep  these  men  on  the  line  we 
have  to  pay  them  or  else  it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  keep  them  there 
and  ask  them  to  devote  all  their  time  to  the  interest  of  the  movement. 

The  lodges  that  are  paying  the  assessments  are  doing  so  with  the 
expectations  that  the  Illinois  Central  men  or  district  No.  21  is  getting 
the  40  per  cent  of  the  assessments,  which  we  are  not  getting. 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  77 

After  talking  this  matter  over  with  Buckalew,  it  was  decided  that 
we  should  take  this  matter  up  with  you  relative  to  this  40  per  cent  of 
the  assessment  money  that  the  district  should  be  allowed.  What  we  want 
to  know,  Brother  Johnston,  is  this:  Will  you  pay  40  per  cent  of  the 
assessment  money  over  to  our  district  so  that  we  can  pay  these  men  that 
we  are  contemplating  keeping  on  the  line?  Before  we  can  carry  out 
our  plans  it  is  necessary  that  we  know  this.  We  note  in  the  August 
Journal  of  the  donations  to  the  strike  fund  for  the  struck  roads,  which 
amounted  to  $6,602.97.  Out  of  this  amount  our  district  should  have  40 
percent,  amounting  to  $2,200.97.  NOW,  BROTHER  JOHNSTON, 
WHAT  WE  RECEIVED  for  this  month  WAS  $11. 

It  is  essential  that  we  get  down  to  a  business  basis  in  the  handling 
of  this  strike,  to  carry  it  out  effectively.  We  must  get  our  pro  ratio  of 
this  assessment  money,  and  we  herewith  request  you  to  inform  us  as 
soon  as  possible  if  you  can  and  will  comply  with  our  request  of  for- 
warding us  40  per  cent  of  the  assessment  money. 

With  best  wishes  for  victory  and  federation,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)         L.  M.  HAWVER, 

President  District  No.  21. 

The  following  letter  is  President  Johnston's  reply  to  the 
letter  sent  him  by  President  L.  M.  Hawver  of  Machinist  Dis- 
trict No.  21 : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  September  10,  1912. 
MR.  L.  M.  HAWVER,  JR., 

President  District  No.  21. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Replying  to  yours  of  the  7th  inst.  regard- 
ing the  financial  condition  of  your  district,  beg  to  say  that  the  appeals 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  asking  local  lodges  to  assess  themselves  to  raise 
sufficient  funds  was  in  order  to  meet  the  strike  roll  regularly.  Prac- 
tically all  those  now  on  strike  are  beneficial,  and  if  the  lodges  respond 
we  will  be  able  to  distribute  equitable  the  money  to  those  on  strike. 

As  to  allowing  your  district  40  per  cent,  WE  CANNOT  THINK  OF 
DOING  SO.  As  yet  there  has  been  very  little  received.  YOU  will  notice 
in  the  September  Journal  was  received  in  response  to  circular  No.  10, 
which  was  to  enable  the  Grand  Lodge  to  pay  the  strike  benefits. 

The  general  circular  was  agreed  upon  by  all  organizations  and  each 
one  is  sending  practically  the  same  appeal,  believing  that  they  would  be 
able  to  handle  their  own  men.  The  Grand  Lodge  is  under  obligations 
to  its  members  and  must  pay  benefits  to  those  legally  entitled  to  same, 
and  all  funds  received  by  the  Grand  Lodge  will  be  given  our  members 
direct,  and  not  through  any  district.  We  have  a  large  number  of  men 
still  on  the  rolls  and  it  is  absolutely  necessary  if  we  are  to  continue  and 
meet  our  present  obligations,  regardless  of  back  indebtedness,  we  must 
have  additional  help. 

Regretting  our  inability  to  comply  with  your  request,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

WILLIAM  H.  JOHNSTON, 

International  President. 


78  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

President  Johnston  laid  claim  to  all  strike  funds  on  ac- 
count of  circular  letter  No.  10,  issued  in  March,  1912.  In 
this  letter  Mr.  Johnston  made  it  very  plain  that  he  was  using 
and  intends  to  use  any  money  that  was  donated  to  the  men  on 
strike  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  his  Grand  Lodge  obliga- 
tions. It  will  here  be  understood  that  in  order  to  be  able  to 
pay  Grand  Lodge  obligations,  the  Grand  Lodge  confiscated 
the  donations  made  and  the  assessments  for  the  men  on  strike. 
Therefore,  the  men  on  strike  could  get  no  funds  outside  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  benefits  of  six  or  eight  dollars  a  week,  realizing, 
of  course,  that  after  men  had  been  on  strike  for  a  year,  they 
could  not  remain  on  the  line  at  six  or  eight  dollars  per  week. 

Mr.  Johnston  speaks  of  circular  No.  10,  from  which  the 
Grand  Lodge  took  the  authority  for  confiscating  the  funds; 
therefore,  circular  No.  10  is  herewith  quoted: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  5,  1912. 
OFFICIAL  CIRCULAR  No.  10 

I  have  just  returned  from  an  inspection  tour  of  the  industrial  situa- 
tion on  some  parts  of  the  Union  Pacific  and  Illinois  Central  roads  where 
a  strike  has  been  in  effect  since  September  30,  1911,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  satisfactory  working  agreements  for  the  system  federation,  and 
have  been  in  conference  with  the  International  Presidents  of  the  sev- 
eral organizations  involved,  at  which  conference  Ames,  Hannon  and 
Buckalew  were  present. 

I  am  glad  to  report  that  we  found  the  strike  being  handled  effec- 
tively. The  railroad  companies  are  being  badly  crippled.  By  their  own 
official  statement  they  admit  at  some  points  they  have  65  per  cent  more 
men  engaged  than  under  normal  conditions.  This  large  number  of  men 
are  turning  out  less  than  16  per  cent  of  the  work  the  old  reliable  trade 
union  employees  formerly  turned  out. 

At  another  point  I  ascertained  from  an  absolutely  reliable  source 
that  fifty-two  new  men  are  not  turning  out  as  much  work  as  could  be 
done  with  five  reliable  mechanics. 

From  the  most  accurate  data  obtained  and  with  many  startling 
facts  before  me,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  companies  will  not  permit 
such  a  drain  upon  their  resources  to  continue  for  an  indefinite  period. 

It  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  officers  attending  the  confer- 
ence that  they  had  never  before  seen  manifested  a  better  spirit  among 
men  engaged  in  a  railroad  strike.  This  is  particularly  noticeable  because 
it  is  really  the  first  federated  contest  that  has  been  made.  All  previous 
railroad  strikes  were  of  the  one-trade-of-a-time-character.  The  future 
welfare  of  all  railroad  shop  mechanics  on  all  other  systems  will  largely 
depend  on  the  outcome  of  this  struggle. 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  79 

Our  men  on  the  firing  line  are  in  good  spirits,  full  of  courage  and 
determination.  They  are  fighting  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  a  prin- 
ciple for  which  we  all  believe  is  just,  and  in  addition  they  are  fighting 
the  initial  battle  for  all  other  railroad  men.  If  they  win  we  will  win;  if 
they  lose  it  will  mean  a  continual  fight  on  all  other  railroads. 

In  order  to  make  the  struggle  short  and  decisive,  more  money  is 
required.  The  conference  decided  to  do  its  utmost  to  raise  more  funds 
and  recommended  that  each  organization  send  out  an  urgent  appeal  to 
its  membership.  Personally,  I  am  opposed  to  levying  an  assessment, 
but  in  order  to  avoid  it,  more  money  must  be  forthcoming  to  enable  us 
to  meet  our  obligations. 

Therefore,  in  lieu  of  an  assessment  I  ask  that  each  lodge  imme- 
diately appoint  a  special  committee  to  get  in  touch  with  every  member 
and  secure  from  each  one  a  voluntary  pledge  for  a  specific  amount  per 
week  or  per  month  during  the  life  of  this  strike. 

And  I  further  urge  that  each  member  make  an  earnest  effort  to 
keep  his  dues  paid  up  to  date,  so  that  the  Grand  Lodge  may  have  the 
use  of  the  per  capita  tax  for  the  benefit  of  our  brothers  who  are 
making  such  heroic  sacrifices  for  the  benefit  of  our  trade. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  lodges  that  are  able  to  donate  to  this 
exceptional  worthy  cause  are  earnestly  requested  to  do  so  without  delay. 

All  money  collected  for  this  purpose  should  be  sent  to  George 
Preston,  General  Secretary-Treasurer.  The  amount  received  from  each 
local  will  be  published  monthly  in  our  Journal.  Let  no  one  hesitate  to 
give,  even  though  his  donation  be  small.  What  we  want  is  a  quick, 
cheerful,  systematic  response. 

I  feel  confident  that  this  appeal  to  the  generosity  of  our  member- 
ship will  not  be  made  in  vain.  What  you  do,  do  at  once. 

WILLIAM  H.  JOHNSTON, 
International  President,  I.  A.  of  M. 

In  this  circular  No.  10  it  appears  that  Mr.  Johnston  is 
appealing  to  his  membership  to  assist  the  men  on  strike  and 
to  this  end  the  circular  speaks  for  itself.  If  the  appeal  is 
made  for  the  strikers,  then  this  money,  and  all  subscriptions 
from  this  appeal,  is  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike.  And 
all  money  subscribed  on  this  appeal  should  have  gone  directly 
to  the  men  on  strike  independent  of  Grand  Lodge  strike  bene- 
fits. Therefore,  if  this  money  did  not  get  to  the  men  on  strike, 
but  instead  was  placed  in  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury,  then  such 
transaction  was  confiscation,  was  it  not  ? 

If  Mr.  Johnston  found  out  that  his  treasury  was  getting 
exhausted  and  reaching  that  stage  where  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers'  salaries  and  other  Grand  Lodge  expenses  were  about 
to  be  jeopardized,  then  shouldn't  Mr.  Johnston  have  sent  out 


80  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

a  circular,  stating  that  there  was  not  enough  money  in  the 
treasury  for  his  last  week's  salary  and  make  an  appeal  to  the 
membership  to  come  across,  as  he  wants  his  week's  salary 
regularly?  Instead  of  this  we  find  him  using  the  strikers  as 
his  excuse  for  raising  funds  for  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury. 

The  fact  was  that  on  account  of  the  strike  many  names 
were  added  to  the  payroll  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  As  soon  as 
these  men  were  ordered  to  strike  they  automatically  went  on  the 
payroll  of  the  Grand  Lodge  for  six  or  eight  dollars  per  week. 
This  six  or  eight  dollars  a  week  were  their  wages,  their  week's 
salary  for  performing  a  certain  function  of  the  Association, 
the  function  of  going  on  strike. 

After  the  strike  the  strikers'  wages  of  six  or  eight  dollars 
became  a  Grand  Lodge  obligation,  just  as  much  as  the  weekly 
wages  of  Mr.  Johnston,  which  was  a  Grand  Lodge  obliga- 
tion. And  as  long  as  Mr.  Johnston  kept  these  strikers  on  the 
Grand  Lodge  payrolls,  just  that  long  was  the  Grand  Lodge 
under  the  same  obligation  to  pay  the  strikers  for  their  week's 
wages  as  it  was  to  pay  Mr.  Johnston  for  his  week's  work,  as 
they  were  both  constitutional  obligations.  Therefore,  the 
treasury  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  going  under,  and  its  funds 
being  exhausted  because  of  the  heavy  payrolls.  But  the  con- 
stitution provides  for  such  emergencies,  and  sets  forth  the 
following  specifications  in  the  1912  Grand  Lodge  Constitution 
of  the  I.  A.  of  M. 

In  article  7,  section  1,  page  35  of  the  Grand  Lodge  Con- 
stitution and  reads  as  follows : 

The  revenue  of  the  Grand  Lodge  shall  be  derived  from  the  sale  of 
the  supplies,  per  capita  tax,  reinstatement,  initiation  and  income  from 
the  Journal,  and  such  assessments  as  may  be  levied  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 

It  will  be  understood  in  this  section  of  the  constitution 
that  Mr.  Johnston  has  no  constitutional  right  to  ask  for  char- 
ity when  his  Grand  Lodge  treasury  gets  exhausted  or  when 
it  gets  in  a  position  where  either  his  salary  or  the  salary  of 
anyone  that  may  be  on  strike,  or  both  of  them,  are  in  danger 
of  being  put  on  the  waiting  list.  But  the  constitution  has 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  81 

made  provision  for  Mr.  Johnston  to  take  advantage  of,  and 
makes  specifications  on  this  subject  under  "Revenue  for  the 
Grand  Lodge,  which  reads  as  follows : 

Page  36,  article  7.  Under  caption  Grand  Lodge  Assessments,  Sec- 
tion 2:  "When  the  funds  of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists 
shall  require  it,  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  may  levy  such  assessments 
as  are  necessary  to  meet  the  expenses,  providing  they  are  first  made  legal 
by  referendum  vote  of  the  membership." 

We  find  here  that  when  the  funds  of  the  Association  re- 
quires it,  that  assessments  may  be  levied,  but  there  is  no  sec- 
tion that  gives  Mr.  Johnston  the  right  to  solicit  voluntary 
funds  and  assessments  for  the  Grand  Lodge  and  its  treasury. 
Therefore,  even  though  it  was  the  desire  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Johnston  to  replenish  his  depleted  treasury  by  soliciting  volun- 
tary donations,  such  transactions  were  unconstitutional.  How- 
ever, had  Mr.  Johnston  in  his  circular  No.  10  set  forth  the 
facts  that  he  wanted  to  organize  certain  states  and  needed 
money,  or  that  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  demanding  their 
weekly  wages  promptly,  the  situation  would  have  been  quite 
different,  for  those  who  would  have  subscribed  to  his  circular 
No.  10  would  have  understood  that  they  were  doing  so  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  up  and  alive  the  subsidiaries  that  fed 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury. 

But  Mr.  Johnston  in  his  circular  No.  10  plays  up  the 
"War  Babies"  and  plays  them  up  strong  and,  therefore,  those 
that  assessed  themselves  for  the  "War  Babies"  did  so  out  of 
sympathy  for  the  "War  Babies,"  with  full  intentions  that 
their  funds  should  and  would  reach  them.  If  the  Grand  Lodge 
treasury  was  depleted,  it  was  not  fair  to  play  on  the  good  fel- 
lowship of  the  membership  and  ask  them  to  carry  the  burdens 
which  should  fall  on  the  entire  membership,  in  the  form  of  as- 
sessments, or  an  increase  in  per  capita  tax.  But  as  Mr.  John- 
ston sets  forth  in  his  circular  No.  10,  "That  he  does  not  favor 
assessments,"  it  is  alleged  he  made  a  portion  of  his  campaign 
for  International  President  in  1911  against  high  dues  and 
assessment  and  when  elected,  of  course,  could  not  come  out 


82  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

and  favor  that  which  he  made  his  campaign  issues  against. 
Therefore,  the  constitution  be  damned.  The  idea  of  getting 
the  money  into  the  treasury  by  holding  up  to  the  membership 
the  "War  Babies"  as  a  circus  manager  tantalizingly  discloses 
half  his  exhibits,  in  order  to  get  the  crowd  on  the  inside,  looked 
like  a  better  idea  to  Mr.  Johnston  than  carrying  out  the  regu- 
lations and  specifications  of  his  constitution. 

We  have  now  established  the  fact  that  all  and  any  money 
subscribed  on  Mr.  Johnston's  circular  No.  10  was  the  prop- 
erty of  the  men  on  strike  independently  of  any  wages  that  they 
had  coming  from  the  Grand  Lodge  and,  as  stated,  these  dona- 
tions were  made,  because  those  that  made  them  realized  that  the 
men  on  the  line  could  not  exist  on  the  small  wages  they  were 
drawing  from  the  Grand  Lodge.  It  is  not  possible  that  any 
lodge  assessed  itself  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salaries  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  officers  up  to  date.  Had  it  been  so  informed 
in  circular  No.  10,  the  members  would  have  said  that  such 
assessment  should  be  general  and  carried  by  the  entire  mem- 
bership, for  why  should  any  particular  lodge  carry  the  extra 
expenses  of  the  Grand  Lodge?  If  such  were  the  case,  then 
those  that  wished  to  pay  per  capita  tax  could  have  done  so, 
if  they  so  desired,  and  others  would  not,  and  still  have  the 
same  rights  and  hold  the  same  membership  as  those  who  kept 
up  the  expenses  of  the  Association.  Therefore,  the  Grand 
Lodge  confiscated  the  funds,  which  was  the  property  of  the 
men  on  strike,  and  it  will  be  important  to  remember  this,  inas- 
much as  the  confiscation  of  funds  will  be  an  issue  that  arises 
frequently  in  coming  pages. 

Now  that  you  have  read  President  Johnston's  letter  of 
September  10,  1912,  as  well  as  his  circular  No.  10,  in  which 
he  claims  the  right  of  confiscation,  and  further  the  Grand 
Lodge  Constitution  covering  this  subject,  as  well  as  my  de- 
cisions, I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  Jack  Bucka- 
lew,  President  Johnston's  confidential  man,  handling  the  Illi- 
nois Central  strike,  for  the  machinists,  who  renders  his  opinion 
as  follows : 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  83 

CHICAGO,  September  4,  1912. 
MR.  C.  E.  PERSOX, 

Box  No.  32, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  think  that  you  should  send  out  a  letter 
under  the  seal  of  your  district,  with  the  president's  and  secretary's  names 
attached,  calling  attention  to  the  revenue  of  the  Grand  Lodge  on  page 
26,  article  7,  section  1,  of  the  constitution: 

Then  section  2,  in  regard  to  Grand  Lodge  assessments. 

The  membership  should  understand  that  this  is  the  provision  made 
by  our  constitution  for  the  Grand  Lodge  to  secure  funds  to  handle  its 
business  with.  I  think  it  would  be  well  to  quote  these  two  sections 
verbatim,  and  then  call  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  International 
President  has  not  levied  an  assessment.  If  he  had,  then  it  would  be 
compulsory  for  all  money  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  those 
not  paying  assessments  would  be  suspended  and  the  assessment  would 
be  uniform  to  all  members  of  all  lodges  in  our  jurisdiction. 

Then  cite  page  40,  article  2,  section  16.  I  believe  it  would  be  well 
to  quote  this  verbatim  also,  showing  that  a  general  application  for  aid 
by  one  lodge  to  another  for  funds  to  assist  a  sister  lodge  in  some  cause. 
It  might  be  for  the  defense  of  some  other  organization  or  for  some 
brother  to  be  tried,  for  supposed  crime,  or  for  strike  purposes.  In  this 
case  it  is  for  strike  purposes,  and  such  money  is  not  the  property  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  according  to  the  constitution. 

I  personally  know  that  a  great  many  lodges  do  not  want  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  have  a  nickel  of  this  money,  but  believe  they  must  send  it  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  to  carry  out  the  letter  of  the  law.  If  you  have  Johns- 
ton's decision  it  will  be  well  to  quote  such  sections  of  that  as  would 
show  that  he  is  demanding  this  money  to  be  sent  contrary  to  the  intent 
and  purpose  of  the  lodges  that  are  donating. 

I  fully  believe,  Brother  Person,  this  action  must  be  taken  to  wake 
the  Grand  Lodge  up  to  the  fact  that  we  do  not  propose  to  be  mon- 
keyed with  in  this  matter  and  that  they  will  sooner  or  later  have  to 
allow  this  money  to  go  where  it  is  intended  to  go. 

We  are  getting  better  results  now  than  for  some  weeks  back.  With 
best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.  D.  BITCKALEW, 
International  Vice-President  I.  A.  of  M. 

Now  we  have  given  you  Mr.  Buckalew's  opinion,  which, 
you  will  understand,  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  learned 
gentleman,  President  Johnston.  Mr.  Buckalew  states  in  his 
letter  that  we  are  getting  better  results  at  this  time  than  we 
were  a  couple  of  weeks  back,  so  therefore  the  activity  on  the 
part  of  the  district  has  already  given  the  strike  the  desired 
results. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Buckalew  was  authority  as  far  as  the  district 
was  concerned.  He  had  full  power  to  issue  and  reissue  instruc- 


84  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

tions  and  expect  that  they  should  be  carried  out.  I  was  on 
the  job  to  carry  out  instructions,  providing  I  was  convinced 
that  such  instructions  were  in  the  interest  of  the  strike,  and 
after  fully  considering  I  accepted  Buckalew's  interpretation 
of  the  law  and  started  out  to  execute  it,  and  defend  such 
opinion  and  decision  when  it  was  necessary  to  defend  it. 

The  following  letter  is  a  copy  of  one  of  the  many  letters 
sent  out  by  the  district  after  the  district  started  war  on  the 
Grand  Lodge  for  confiscating  the  funds  which  were  the  prop- 
erty of  the  men  on  strike  and  reads  as  follows : 

CLIKTON,  ILL.,  September  14,  1912. 

You  are  one  of  that  army  that  rebelled  against  the  jingoism  of  the 
autocrats  who  control  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  and 
inasmuch  as  we  are  also  victims  of  this  economic  WAR,  we  are  writing 
you  on  a  subject  matter  that  has  much  in  relation  with  our  progress 
and  ultimate  success. 

The  members  of  your  organization  are  paying  assessments  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  with  the  understanding  that  this  money  is  forwarded  to 
the  men  on  the  struck  roads.  However,  such  is  not  the  case,  as  this 
money  is  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge.  We  have  written  them  con- 
cerning this  matter  and  requesting  the  40  per  cent  of  the  assessment 
money  and  donations  that  the  Illinois  Central  men  should  get. 

We  recently  sent  an  appeal  to  our  sister  lodges,  impressing  them 
with  the  necessity  of  financing  our  projection  and  send  their  money 
direct  to  our  district.  However,  the  Grand  Lodge  has  since  issued  a 
circular  letter,  requesting  all  lodges  to  ignore  our  appeals  for  finance. 
From  this  you  can  take  it  for  granted  that  they  expect  our  men  to 
remain  on  the  line  and  fight  this  strike  on  four  and  six  dollars  per  week. 
You  know  that  the  men  cannot  devote  the  necessary  amount  of  time  for 
the  interest  of  this  movement  on  what  the  Grand  Lodge  is  allowing  them 
as  strike  benefits. 

We  are  going  to  compete  with  the  Grand  Lodge  for  this  assessment 
money.  It  is  here  that  we  want  to  use  YOU.  We  want  you  to  carry 
on  a  campaign  of  agitation  in  your  shop  and  among  your  membership 
to  the  end  that  the  40  per  cent  of  the  assessment  money  that  the  Illinois 
Central  men  are  allowed  be  sent  direct  to  the  Secretary-Treasurer  of 
our  district. 

If  your  membership  wants  their  money  to  go  to  dead  timber  and 
continue  under  a  system  that  has  driven  90  per  cent  of  our  good  men 
off  the  system  and  forced  them  to  go  to  work  elsewhere,  they  should 
continue  to  pay  their  assessment  money  to  the  Grand  Lodge  and  dona- 
tions along  with  it.  However,  if  they  see  the  necessity  of  winning  this 
strike,  they  will  place  this  money  at  the  point  of  production  with  the 
district  and  the  money  will  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  men  who  are 
giving  you  something  in  return  for  it.  We  feel  satisfied  that  the  men 
will  comply  with  our  request  as  soon  as  they  understand  the  situation 
and  that  they  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  we  are  not  getting  this  money. 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  85 

We  want  you  to  write  the  Grand  Lodge  for  yourself,  and  for  the 
information  of  your  membership,  and  ask  them  why  this  money  is  not 
forwarded  as  expected  to  our  district.  We  don't  object  to  the  money 
being  sent  to  the  Grand  Lodge  if  they  will  forward  it  to  our  district. 
It  is  the  confiscation  of  the  money  that  we  object  to. 

There  are  enough  men  off  the  struck  roads  at  the  different  shops 
in  the  country  right  now,  and  with  the  influence  that  they  have  to  send 
this  assessment  money  any  way  they  want  to  send  it.  GET  the  strikers 
together  and  organize  and  then  you  can  decide  on  what  is  best  to  do 
and  how  you  are  going  to  accomplish  it.  We  are  working  day  and 
night  looking  after  this  end  of  the  situation  the  best  we  know  how. 
You  are  one  of  us  and  we  expect  you  to  do  your  part  at  your  end  of 
the  fight.  . 

There  are  90,000,000  reasons  why  you  should  be  alive  and  on  the 
job  for  the  interest  of  this  strike.  If  you  have  not  got  an  assessment 
on  for  the  struck  roads,  see  to  it  that  you  get  one.  If  this  is  impossible, 
take  up  a  collection  at  your  meetings  or  after  pay  day  and  send  all 
money  for  the  Illinois  Central  men  to  William  A.  Newman,  Box  162, 
Mattoon,  111.,  and  all  money  for  the  Harriman  Lines  to  T.  G.  Alvord, 
2212  Lincoln  Avenue,  Ogden,  Utah. 

If  you  care  to  get  our  strike  bulletin  we  shall  be  pleased  to  forward 
same  to  you.  Let  us  hear  from  you  at  intervals  and  tell  us  what  you 
are  doing  for  the  interest  of  this  strike  and  your  success  in  getting  the 
money  sent  direct  to  the  point  of  production. 

With  sincere  wishes,  we  are,  , 

Yours  for  victory, 

L.  M.  HAWVER,  JR., 

President. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Assistant  Secretary. 

As  soon  as  some  of  the  local  lodges  were  aware  of  the  fact 
that  the  strikers'  money  was  being  confiscated,  they  sent  their 
money  with  special  instructions  that  the  money  was  for  the  men 
on  strike  and  intended  to  go  through  the  Grand  Lodge  to  be 
recorded,  and  then  forwarded  to  the  men  on  strike.  In  some 
cases  when  they  were  instructed  to  so  forward  the  money,  the 
Grand  Lodge  returned  the  money  to  those  who  sent  it  and  re- 
fused to  handle  it.  Here  was  an  army  of  men  on  strike  who 
were  expected  to  make  that  strike  as  effective  as  possible  and 
could  not  even  get  enough  co-operation  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  that  convention  that  at  Davenport  in  1911  sanctioned  the 
strike  and  decided  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  men  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  to  put  up  a  fight  for 
federation. 


86  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

There  is  no  question  but  that  there  was  a  determination 
to  sink  the  ship  right  after  the  general  strike  vote  announce- 
ment on  July  29,  but  while  they -were  laying  down  on  their 
own  job  and  waited  for  the  movement  to  die  of  itself,  we  got 
the  machinist  district  organized.  After  this  period  they  had 
to  get  up  and  step  some  to  accomplish  their  purpose.  Let  it  be 
understood  that  they  did  their  best  to  accomplish  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Jack  Buckalew,  Vice-President  of  the  Machinists,  and 
the  gentleman  who  was  assigned  to  handle  the  strike  on  the 
Illinois  Central  for  the  Machinists,  after  being  informed  of 
the  attitude  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  refusing  to  comply  with 
the  constitution,  instructed  another  general  circular  letter  to  be 
sent  out  to  all  machinist  locals.  Mr.  Buckalew's  instructions 
read  as  follows: 

CHICAGO,  September  17,  1912. 
MESSRS.  HAWVER  AND  PERSON, 

District  21,  I.  A.  of  M., 
Clinton,  111. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  circular  letter  No.  21  from  General  Secretary- 
Treasurer  Preston  relative  to  voluntary  donations.  He  admits  that  the 
original  understanding  was  that  40  and  60  per  cent  of  donations  should 
be  divided  between  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  but  say 
that  later  on  they  decided  to  use  the  money  to  pay  strike  benefits,  and 
that  such  procedure  would  be  continued. 

I  believe  I  understand  the  law  of  our  organization  pretty  well  and 
the  donations  that  are  now  coming  in  are  covered  on  page  40  of  the 
subordinate  constitution  under  article  2,  section  18.  I  remember  when 
this  article  was  drawn  up  I  called  the  attention  of  the  law  committee 
to  the  words  "General"  application  for  aid. 

I  had  in  mind  that  local  lodges  might  solicit  funds  from  neighbor- 
ing lodges,  or,  for  instance,  in  certain  sections  or  districts  without  the 
permission  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  but  when  a  general  application  was 
made  I  was  willing  for  the  laAV  to  read  that  the  International  President 
should  approve  of  such  appeal  for  aid  and  that  the  money  should  merely 
go  "through"  the  General  Secretary-Treasurer's  office  as  a  matter  of 
record,  but  all  said  moneys  belonged  to  the  lodges  in  which  the  appeal  was 
taken. 

For  instance,  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Line  strikers  have 
sent  out  an  appeal  to  their  sister  lodges  for  voluntary  support.  The 
International  President  suggested  that  the  support  should  be  $2  per 
member.  Being  a  well-known  fact  that  this  was  not  adhered  to  by  a 
great  many  lodges,  as  some  have  no  assessments  on  at  all,  and  others 
60,  etc.,  therefore,  the  action  of  our  sister  lodges  are  entirely  voluntary 
on  their  part,  but  the  intention  is  that  these  moneys  should  go  direct 
to  the  Secretary-Treasurer  of  Districts  No.  21  and  No.  11. 

I  personally  know  that  a  great  many  of  the  lodges  are  under  the 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  87 

impression  that  all  the  money  that  has  been  donated  went  direct  to 
the  strikers.  Realizing  this,  I  think  that  it  was  nothing  but  fair  and 
just  on  pur  part  that  we  issue  a  circular  letter  to  our  sister  lodges, 
citing  the  constitution  under  page  40,  article  2,  section  16.  Also  calling 
their  attention  to  Secretary  Preston's  letter  as  to  what  he  has  done, 
and  what  he  is  going  to  do  with  these  moneys.  You  might  also  cite  in 
your  circular  letter  that  it  is  NOT  unconstitutional  for  them  to  send 
the  money  direct  to  the  district,  and  that  if  they  do  so  we  will  compile 
a  statement  once  a  month  and  send  to  the  Journal  for  publication. 

If  the  Grand  Lodge  has  an  idea  that  we  can  run  this  strike  on  four 
and  six  dollars  per  week,  they  might  as  well  get  that  out  of  their  head 
right  now,  and  I  am  so  writing  Secretary  Preston  today. 

President  Johnston  is  in  Canada  and  will  not  return  for  three  weeks, 
and  I  am  sure  he  will  take  no  action  until  he  returns,  and  it  will  do 
no  good  to  write  Conlon.  The  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  get  our  literature 
to  those  lodges  who  are  donating  and  have  them  send  the  money  to  us, 
unless  Preston  will  agree  to  comply  with  the  constitution,  namely,  that 
this  money  is  for  the  strike  and  not  for  the  Grand  Lodge. 

I  desire  that  you  two,  as  President  and  Acting  Secretary  of  the 
district,  use  such  words  or  language  or  parts  of  this  letter  as  you 
desire  and  take  some  immediate  action  towards  getting  out  a  circular. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  District  No.  11  has  shown  so  little  activity 
of  any  kind  in  this  line.  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  wise  for  me  to  send 
out  the  circular  myself.  But  if  some  change  of  heart  is  not  taken 
among  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  I  will  certainly  do  so. 

I  want  to  say  that  the  President  and  Secretary  whose  names  were 
attached  to  the  Water  Valley  letter  are  both  members  of  Little  Rock 
Lodge,  and  were  home  on  a  vacation  when  this  letter  was  gotten  up. 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)         J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 
International  Vice-President  I.  A.  of  M. 


We  have  again  had  Mr.  Buckalew  on  the  stand,  in  which 
his  testimony  as  yet  differs  from  President  Johnston  in  regards 
to  the  funds  for  the  men  on  strike.  Mr.  Buckalew  was  one 
of  the  oldest  members  in  the  official  family  of  the  machinist 
organization,  and  a  gentleman  \\Lose  opinions  were  taken 
into  consideration  when  constitutions  were  altered  and  writ- 
ten, and  as  we  have  seen  in  his  above  letter,  he  makes  it  plain 
that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Machinists  were  at  this  time  hold- 
ing up  the  men  on  strike,  and  further  instructs  the  district 
officers  to  issue  such  circulars  as  will  convey  to  the  membership 
Mr.  Buckalew's  interpretations  of  the  question  of  confiscation. 
I  wish  to  call  your  special  attention  to  Mr.  Buckalew  at  this 
time,  inasmuch  as  we  were  facing  a  storm  of  organized  oppo- 


88  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

sition,  so  that  you  can  be  able  to  mold  an  opinion  of  what  Mr. 
Buckalew's  duty  should  be  in  the  coming  storm. 

The  following  circular  was  sent  out  to  all  machinist  lodges 
in  compliance  with  Vice-President  Jack  Buckalew's  request, 
and  reads  as  follows: 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS,  DISTRICT  No.  21 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  September  24,  1912. 
To  THE  MACHINIST  LODGE: 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  We  are  writing  you  at  this  time  on  a 
subject  matter  that  has  much  in  relation  with  the  progress  and  ultimate 
success  of  the  strike  situation  on  the  struck  roads,  and  it  is  our  sincere 
hopes  that  you  will  give  the  subsequent  paragraphs  your  earnest 
consideration. 

Many  of  the  machinists'  lodges  are  paying  assessments  with  the 
understanding  that  this  money  is  forwarded  to  the  men  on  strike  inde- 
pendent of  their  Grand  Lodge  benefits.  However,  this  is  not  the  case, 
as  this  money  is  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  and  paid  out  as  Grand 
Lodge  benefits,  an  obligation  that  the  Grand  Lodge  should  meet  from 
Grand  Lodge  per  capita  tax  and  Grand  Lodge  assessments. 

We  have  written  the  Grand  Lodge  concerning  this  matter  and  re- 
questing the  40  per  cent  of  the  assessment  and  donations  that  the  Illinois 
Central  men  are  allowed.  However,  the  answer  was  that  they  could  not 
think  of  doing  so,  inasmuch  as  these  assessments  were  put  on  to  enable 
the  Grand  Lodge  to  pay  strike  benefits. 

The  recent  Grand  Lodge  circular  No.  21  requested  all  lodges  to 
ignore  all  outside  appeals  for  financial  assistance,  thus  cutting  off  all 
avenues  of  income  from  the  men  on  the  struck  roads.  The  Grand  Lodge 
is  paying  the  men  on  strike  four  and  six  dollars  per  week  and  inasmuch 
as  this  is  the  only  source  of  income  available  to  them,  you  can  under- 
stand that  they  expect  the  strikers  to  continue  to  devote  their  time 
to  the  best  interest  of  this  movement  on  the  basis  of  four  and  six  dollars 
per  week.  We  are  herewith  quoting  the  sections  1  and  2  of  article  7, 
page  26,  of  the  constitution  which  relates  to  Grand  Lodge  assessments. 

Section  1.  "The  revenue  of  the  Grand  Lodge  shall  be  derived  from 
the  sale  of  supplies,  per  capita  tax,  reinstatements,  initiations,  income 
from  the  Journal,  and  such  assessments  as  may  be  levied  by  the  Grand 
Lodge." 

Section  2.  "When  the  funds  of  the  International  Association  of 
Machinists  shall  require  it,  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  may  levy  such 
assessments  as  are  necessary  to  meet  the  expenses." 

From  this  you  will  understand  that  provisions  are  made  for  the 
Grand  Lodge  to  levy  assessments  to  secure  funds  sufficient  enough  to 
handle  their  business  on.  The  assessment  that  is  paid  for  the  men  on 
the  struck  roads  is  the  property  of  the  men  on  the  struck  roads.  It  is 
not  Grand  Lodge  assessment  and  the  Grand  Lodge  has  no  constitutional 
rights  to  confiscate  this  money  to  meet  their  own  obligations  with. 

If  the  assessments  which  was  paid  for  the  men  on  the  struck  roads 
was  a  Grand  Lodge  assessment,  it  would  be  compulsory  to  forward  the 
money  for  same  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  those  not  paying  this  assess- 


CABINET'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  89 

ment  would  be  suspended  and  the  assessment  would  be  uniform  to  all 
members  and  to  all  lodges. 

When  money  is  sent  from  one  lodge  to  another  the  Grand  Lodge 
should  act  as  an  agent  of  exchange  and  reforward  the  money  to  its 
proper  channels.  We  have  no  objections  to  this.  It  is  confiscation  of 
the  money  that  we  object  to.  It  is  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  forward  the  money  to  the  channels  of  which  the  money  is 
intended. 

If  YOU  want  to  win  this  strike,  you  will  have  to  finance  the  men 
who  are  on  the  job  and  send  your  money  to  the  men  who  are  putting 
up  the  fight  to  YOU.  It  is  the  men  on  the  struck  roads  that  are  on 
strike  and  not  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  if  you  want  to  do  anything  towards 
a  successful  termination  of  this  strike,  YOU  will  see  to  it  that  the  men 
who  are  putting  up  the  fight  for  you  will  get  your  money. 

If  your  lodge  has  forwarded  any  money  for  the  Illinois  Central 
strikers  through  the  Grand  Lodge,  this  is  to  advise  you  that  they  have 
not  received  it  in  this  event;  we  will  ask  you  to  write  the  Grand  Lodge 
for  an  explanation. 

Several  lodges  are  sending  their  assessment  money  direct  to  our 
district.  If  you  cannot  make  arrangements  with  the  Grand  Lodge  to 
forward  your  money  to  the  men  on  strike,  send  it  direct  to  our  Secre- 
tary-Treasurer, William  A.  Newman,  Box  No.  162,  Mattoon,  111.  He 
will  receipt  you  for  same  and  forward  to  the  Journal  for  publication 
every  month  a  statement  of  all  money  received  for  the  district  from 
the  lodge  it  came  from  and  the  amount. 

The  district  has  about  sixty-five  men  on  the  system  doing  picket 
duty  and  devoting  all  their  time  to  the  interest  of  this  strike.  We  can- 
not keep  them  there  on  four  and  six  dollars  per  week,  and  it  is  for  this 
reason  that  we  must  have  money.  There  are  no  dead  ones  on  the 
district  payroll  and  every  cent  forwarded  to  the  district  will  be  placed 
where  you  will  get  returns  for  it. 

We  are  doing  everything  possible  at  this  end  to  make  the  strike  a 
success.  However,  we  cannot  finance  this  movement.  It  is  up  to  the 
men  who  are  working  to  do  this.  If  your  lodge  has  not  an  assessment 
on  for  the  struck  roads,  we  hope  that  you  will  place  one  on.  If  this  is 
impossible,  we  will  ask  you  to  employ  other  methods  of  raising  funds. 

The  district  has  on  hand  a  supply  of  raffle  tickets  for  a  ten  dollar 
gold  piece.  If  you  can  handle  a  set  of  these  tickets,  write  me  for  them. 
This  is  a  small  proposition  that  can  be  worked  most  any  place.  We 
will  be  glad  to  furnish  particulars  to  interested  parties. 

The  Illinois  Central  strikers  are  allowed  40  per  cent  of  all  money 
raised  for  the  struck  roads  and  should  be  sent  to  William  A.  Newman, 
Box  No.  162,  Mattoon,  111.  The  Harriman  Lines  are  allowed  60  per 
cent.  This  money  should  be  sent  to  T.  G.  Alword,  2212  Lincoln  Avenue, 
Ogden,  Utah. 

Hoping  that  in  the  future  you  will  make  such  arrangements  as  are 
necessary  to  get  your  money  to  the  men  who  are  putting  up  the  fight 
for  you.    With  many  thanks  and  best  wishes,  we  are, 
Yours  for  a  successful  termination  of  this  strike, 

L.  M.  HAWVER,  JH., 
President  District  No.  21. 

CARL  E.  PERSON, 
Assistant  Secretary  District  No.  21. 


90  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We  had  now  stirred  up  a  little  excitement.  This  circular 
letter  had  the  men  over  the  country  talking  about  the  situation. 
A  few  of  them  were  for  us,  while  of  course  the  large  number 
coincided  with  the  Grand  Lodge,  for  the  machine  with  its  "sky 
pilots"  can  generally  bring  the  "worthy  brothers"  to  their 
knees  by  reading  to  them  that  prayer  under  the  caption  of 
"In  the  name  of  Harmony."  That  same  blanket  has  brought 
every  illegitimate  child  into  the  world  and  caused  many  a  river 
to  be  dragged  in  search  of  the  girl  who  was  last  seen  on  the 
"bridge  at  midnight." 

THE  BREAK  AT  WATER  VALLEY 

Machinists'  Lodge  No.  61,  in  Water  Valley,  Miss.,  had 
sent  out  a  circular  letter  to  all  lodges  in  the  machinist  organi- 
zation, in  which  they  wanted  an  expression  of  opinion  in  regard 
to  a  settlement  for  the  machinists,  setting  forth  that  in  the  cir- 
cular the  advisability  of  the  machinists  signing  up  a  contract, 
or  going  back  to  work,  and  pulling  away  from  the  Federation. 
In  other  words,  it  was,  go  back  and  scab  on  the  men  they  had 
gone  out  on  strike  with.  Mr.  Jack  Buckalew  of  the  Machin- 
ists writes  the  following  letter: 

CHICAGO,  Sept.  11,  1912. 
MR.  C.  E.  PERSON, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  have  just  read  the  document  from  Lodge 
No.  61.  I  have  tried  to  write  a  letter  about  it,  and  considering  that  I  had 
a  struggle  with  myself  to  keep  from  cussing  all  the  time  I  was  writing 
it,  it  will  be  quite  lengthy,  but  I  trust  you  will  get  it  out  and  send  it 
over  the  system.  You  might  send  some  out  on  the  Harriman  Lines. 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     J.  D.  BTTCKAI.EW, 
International  Vice  President. 

After  receiving  Mr.  Buckalew's  instructions  and  the  copy 
of  the  letter  he  had  written  in  reply  to  the  Water  Valley  cir- 
cular, his  instructions  were  complied  with  and  a  copy  of  Mr. 
Buckalew's  reply  to  the  Water  Valley  circular  sent  to  all  points 
on  the  Illinois  Central  System  and  many  points  on  the  Harri- 


THE  BREAK  AT  WATER  VALLEY  91 

man  Lines.     Mr.  Jack  Buckalew's  reply  to  the  Water  Valley 

circular  reads  as  follows : 

CHICAGO,  Sept.  11,  1912. 
To  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  STRIKERS: 

It  is  with  much  regret  that  I  am  compelled  to  call  your  attention  to 
another  misleading  discussion  and  lying  circular  emanating  from  Water 
Valley,  Miss.  The  date  shows  that  the  action  relative  to  sending  out 
the  circular  was  on  Aug.  23rd.  The  date  on  which  the  circular  was 
written  was  Aug.  26th.  I  was  in  Water  Valley  on  Aug.  27th,  spoke  to 
the  Federation  and  also  to  members  of  Lodge  No.  61.  At  neither  of 
these  meetings  did  anyone  tell  me  of  their  desire  to  take  such  action  as 
this  circular  outlines.  Therefore,  I  question  whether  this  was  at  a 
meeting  held  by  the  stool  pigeons  of  the  I.  C.  or  by  the  bona  fide  trade 
union  machinists  in  Water  Valley. 

For  the  information  of  those  who  have  not  seen  this  circular,  will 
say  that  the  gist  of  it  is  similar  to  the  Roderick  letter  advocating  the 
individual  contract  even  to  the  extent  of  going  back  in  the  shop  and 
working  with  negroes  and  scabs  and  becoming  the  slaves  of  the  I.  C.  Ry. 
Co.,  with  no  organization  to  prevent  the  cutting  of  wages  or  the  intro- 
duction of  piecework  or  anything  else  that  the  company  would  desire 
to  put  into  operation. 

The  letter  further  states  that  your  district  officers  held  a  meeting 
and  voted  a  certain  salary  to  the  President,  and  then  makes  considerable 
comment  on  the  action  of  the  district  officers,  and  talks  about  living  up 
to  the  constitution,  when  nearly  every  line  of  the  letter  they  issued  is 
a  violation  of  the  constitution.  They  tell  you  of  this  committee  meeting 
and  the  expenses  attached  to  it,  to  make  you  lose  faith  in  your  district 
officers  and  would  further  have  you  believe  that  they  are  misappro- 
priating the  funds  and  are  crooks  in  general.  To  call  a  district  meeting 
would  entail  considerable  expense  which  we  did  not  feel  were  available 
to  handle  the  business  that  was  absolutely  necessary.  We  have  found 
that  the  placing  of  Brother  Hawver  on  a  salary  has  been  a  paying  propo- 
sition, as  we  need  someone  to  solicit  finances  that  we  may  be  able  to 
have  money  to  pay  our  strikers  a  little  more  than  the  Grand  Lodge 
benefits.  Brother  Hawver  has  made  a  good  start  and  we  are  not  afraid 
to  spend  $80  when  we  believe  we  are  going  to  make  twice  that  much  on 
the  investment.  Besides,  I  do  not  believe  our  membership  is  so  narrow 
minded  as  to  expect  a  man  to  put  in  all  his  time  in  a  position  of  this  kind 
for  nothing. 

And  now,  I  call  your  attention  to  the  President  of  Lodge  No.  61,  who 
signed  this  document.  He  has  been  working  in  Paragould  for  some 
time  and  if  he  treated  the  Grand  Lodge  fair  he  should  have  transferred 
to  the  nearest  lodge  to  that  point,  and,  therefore,  is  not  on  strike  in 
Water  Valley. 

The  journal  shows  that  Bro.  H.  A.  Lyne  is  Recording  Secretary.  Bro. 
Lyne,  being  a  true  blue  patriot  and  not  in  favor  of  such  tactics,  was 
removed  from  office.  Will  61  explain  to  the  membership  of  district  21 
why  these  things  were  done?  Will  they  also  explain  why  the  biggest 
kickers  in  Water  Valley  have  been  away  to  other  points  and  secured 
positions  and  really  worked  as  machinists,  but  are  now  back  in  Water 
Valley  operating  a  disturbance  and  misrepresenting  the  strike,  which 
will  work  to  the  benefit  of  the  I.  C.  instead  of  to  the  strikers?  Will  they 


92  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

also  explain  why  this  document  was  written  on  the  23rd  of  August  and 
not  sent  out  until  the  8th  of  September? 

For  the  benefit  of  the  members  of  district  21  and  the  Federation  in 
general,  I  desire  to  say  that  on  the  27th  of  August  I  explained  to  the 
members  in  Water  Valley,  very  fully  and  completely,  everything  that 
had  been  done  to  bring  about  a  settlement  and  told  them  the  company 
had  positively  stated  no  contract  would  be  given  to  anybody,  and  there- 
fore, I  cannot  help  but  believe  that  this  letter  is  the  product  or  develop- 
ment of  I.  C.  sympathizers  and  cannot  benefit  our  organization. 

I  trust  we  will  not  have  to  say  much  more  about  Water  Valley  and 
the  company's  emissaries.  With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  to  win, 

(Signed)     J.  D.  BUCKALEW. 

Mr.  George  Preston,  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  who  did  not  approve  of  the  circulars  sent  out  by  the 
Machinist  district,  which  was  sent  out  to  urge  the  continuation 
of  the  strike,  and  for  the  purpose  of  making  that  strike  as 
effective  as  possible,  approved  of  the  Water  Valley  circular 
sent  out  by  Lodge  No.  61,  I.  A.  of  M.,  and  the  letter  which 
Vice  President  Buckalew  asserts  was  sent  out  by  the  railroad 
company's  emissaries.  Mr.  Preston  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Machinists  comments  on  the  Water  Valley  circular  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  23,  1912. 

(Copy  to  H.  J.  Molloy.) 
Ma.  AL.  ENDERLIN,  Lodge  No.  61. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  have  your  favor  of  the  20th  informing 
me  that  a  copy  of  circular  requested  by  me  has  been  mailed  to  the  office 
of  the  International  President. 

I  have  made  inquiry  for  the  circular  and  read  it  over  very  carefully, 
the  contents  of  said  circular  being  entirely  opposite  to  what  I  expected  to 
find  according  to  the  contents  coming  to  my  notice  regarding  it. 

Personally,  let  me  say  that  I  regard  the  action  taken  by  your  lodge 
as  being  strictly  within  the  prerogatives.  No.  61  or  any  other  lodge 
involved  in  the  strike,  especially  in  a  strike  that  is  continued  for  so  long 
a  time,  has  certainly  the  right  as  a  lodge  to  take  any  action  which  it 
believes  to  be  to  the  best  interest  of  those  involved  in  said  strike,  and 
in  issuing  the  circular  you  were  actuated  only  by  a  desire  to  procure  an 
expression  of  opinion  from  other  lodges  involved  in  the  hope  of  closing  up 
the  strike.  You  were  certainly  acting  within  your  right,  and  I  assure  you 
I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  adverse  criticism  that  has  been  levied  at 
Lodge  No.  61  for  issuing  the  circular  in  question. 

I  recognize  the  fact  that  your  lodge  may  be  mistaken  in  the  stand 
that  it  has  assumed  in  regard  to  this  strike,  but  as  I  know  personally 
that  you  are  not  the  only  lodge,  and  your  members  are  not  the  only 


THE  BREAK  AT  WATER  VALLEY  93 

members  involved  in  this  trouble,  who  believe  as  you  do,  I  do  not  think 
that  you  should  be  censured  in  any  way  for  expressing  your  opinion,  or 
for  making  any  other  effort  to  influence  others  to  view  the  situation  as 
you  see  it. 

Whatever  may  be  your  attitude  in  regard  to  the  circular  referred 
to,  that  should  not  be  allowed  in  any  way  to  interfere  with  the  prompt 
handling  of  your  business  with  this  office  in  connection  with  which  I 
wrote  you  a  few  days  ago.  With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     GEORGE  PRESTON, 

G.  S.  T. 


Vice  President  Buckalew  having  received  a  copy  of  Secre- 
tary Preston's  comment  on  the  Water  Valley  circular,  makes 
the  following  comments  in  regard  to  Secretary  Preston's  atti- 
tude towards  the  men  on  strike  and  it  will  be  well  to  remember 
that  Vice  President  Buckalew,  himself  a  Grand  Lodge  officer, 
regards  Mr.  Preston's  actions  as  one  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  who  are  favorable  to  those  knocking  the  men  on  strike. 
The  letter  reads : 

Nov.  8,  1912. 

Dear  Comrade:  I  am  trying  to  get  the  goods  on  some  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  men  that  are  putting  in  overtime  knocking  this  strike.  I  have 
written  to  several  places  for  letter  and  find  this  one.  I  am  surprised  at 
Molloy.  You  will  notice  that  the  letter  is  dated  Sept.  23,  and  this  is 
the  first  that  I  have  of  it.  If  Molloy  had  a  copy  I  think  that  he  should 
have  let  me  know  that  the  G.  S.  T.  was  favorable  to  the  knockers  that 
are  still  on  the  job.  Yours  fraternally, 

J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 
Vice  President  I.  A.  of  M. 

The  roads  that  had  already  been  successful  in  getting 
federated  agreements  regarded  the  Water  Valley  proposition 
as  a  dangerous  one,  realizing  that  if  the  federated  movement 
was  to  be  surrendered  here  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harri- 
man  Lines,  that  their  federated  movement  would  be  depreciated 
and  their  federated  agreements  taken  away  from  them.  Let 
us  therefore  put  one  of  them  on  the  stand  and  see  what  he 
says  in  regard  to  this  proposition.  The  following  letter  was 
written  from  Princeton,  Ind.,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  machin- 
ists at  Water  Valley,  Miss. : 


94  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

PEINCETON,  IND.,  Nov.  8,  1912. 
ME.  A.  ENDERLIN,  Secretary  No.  61. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  In  response  to  circular  of  Sept.  28th,  sent 
out  by  Water  Valley  Lodge  No.  61,  in  respect  to  a  separate  agreement 
as  a  possible  settlement  of  the  I.  C.  strike,  wish  to  say  No.  543  does  not 
concur  to  this  sentiment.  We  have  a  very  good  Federation  agreement, 
and  I  think  it  would  be  advisable  for  district  21  to  hold  out  at  least  for 
a  metal  trades  agreement.  The  time  for  single-craft  agreements  is  past. 

But  we  do  think  that  you  brothers  might  do  well  to  treat  directly 
with  the  I.  C.  officials  and  leave  Brother  Buckalew  and  other  Grand 
Lodge  officers  out  of  it.  They  have  been  trying  without  success  for  over 
a  year.  Now  they  ought  to  step  aside  and  give  the  rank  and  file  a  chance. 
We  are  prepared  to  send  this  same  protest  to  the  G.  L. 

Fraternally, 

(Signed)     C.  P.  Loms, 
Financial  Secretary,  No.  543,  I.  A.  of  M. 

So  that  you  will  better  understand  the  situation  as  it  was 
in  Water  Valley,  Miss.,  let  us  hear  from  Vice  President  J.  F. 
Schmitt  of  the  Boilermakers.  He  states  in  the  Boilermakers' 
Journal  for  1913,  page  185 : 

Superintendent  of  Motive  Power  Bell  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 
William  Leighton  had  been  in  Water  Valley,  Miss.,  and  met  some  of  the 
strikers  through  one  John  Garland.  This  movement  was  brought  about 
and  this  meeting  had  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  get  some  of  the  men 
to  return  to  work;  also  a  resolution  was  put  out  to  withdraw  from  the 
Federation,  also  to  form  an  organization  known  as  the  Brotherhood  of 
Railway  Shopmen. 

The  man  Garland  in  this  case  was  a  machinist,  and  William 
Leighton,  a  machinist,  who  was  a  district  representative  from 
Clinton,  111.,  before  the  strike,  who  went  to  work  for  the  Illi- 
nois Central  out  of  the  Park  Row  station  a  few  weeks  before 
the  strike  was  called.  His  business  was  just  what  Vice  Presi- 
dent Schmitt  says  that  he  was  doing  in  Water  Valley,  Miss. 
Mr.  Schmitt  further  says : 

I  took  this  matter  up  with  International  President  Johnston  of  the 
I.  A.  of  M  and  advised  the  suspension  of  John  H.  Garland. 

Even  our  distinguished  and  learned  Mr.  Schmitt  did  not 
know  that  the  proposition  met  with  favorable  mention  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Machinists,  and  William  Leighton  was 
a  member  in  good  standing  in  Lodge  126  in  Chicago.  Mr. 


STRIKERS'  FUNDS  CONFISCATED  95 

Leighton  and  Mr.  Garland  possibly  got  their  proposition 
through  the  Water  Valley  lodge  of  the  Machinists,  for  the 
Machinist  lodge  got  out  a  letter  requesting  that  the  Machin- 
ists withdraw  from  the  Federation. 

Vice  President  Schmitt  of  the  Boilermakers  was  boob 
enough  to  think  that  he  could  interfere  with  Superintendent 
of  Motive  Power  Bell's  plans  and  the  efforts  of  Mr.  William 
Leighton  and  Mr.  Garland,  both  worthy  brothers  in  the  I.  A. 
of  M.  It  was  perfectly  all  right  for  these  people  to  come 
around  and  induce  the  machinists  all  over  the  system,  which 
they  did  by  their  circular  letter,  to  turn  traitors  to  the  fellows 
that  they  went  out  with  in  1911.  Anything  for  a  machinist 
contract  these  days,  on  the  Illinois  Central,  and  they  did  not 
come  very  far  from  putting  "it  over"  at  that.  "Better  take 
a  little  bit  now  than  nothing  at  all"  was  a  popular  song  in  the 
undercurrents  and  the  same  song  was  sung  in  the  undercurrents 
of  the  other  organizations. 

STRIKERS'  FUNDS  CONFISCATED 

The  Water  Valley  circular  which  Mr.  J.  D.  Buckalew,  Vice 
President  of  the  Machinists,  asserted  came  from  the  Illinois 
Central  emissaries,  was  given  due  consideration  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Machinists.  However,  should  some  lodge  have 
wished  to  get  some  money  direct  to  the  men  on  strike,  there 
was  no  time  to  give  this  consideration ;  at  this  time,  some  of  the 
lodges  in  sending  in  their  donations  and  assessment  money 
sent  them  to  the  Grand  Lodge  with  specific  instructions  that 
their  money  must  go  direct  to  the  men  on  strike,  and  could 
not  be  used  by  the  Grand  Lodge  to  meet  their  payrolls  with. 
To  give  you  an  understanding  how  little  attention  anything 
got  that  was  in  the  interest  of  the  men  on  strike,  I  am  quoting 
you  in  full  several  letters,  showing  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
refused  to  live  up  to  the  constitution  by  accepting  this  money 
and  forwarding  it  to  the  men  on  strike.  The  letters  read  as 
follows : 


96  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  21,  1912. 

ME.  C.  J.  BAER,  President  Lodge  No.  696. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Yours  of  recent  date  to  hand  accompanied 
by  check  for  $400,  which  you  request  us  to  send  direct  to  the  I.  C.  and 
Harriman  Lines  on  the  basis  of  40  per  cent  to  the  I.  C.  and  60  per  cent 
to  the  Harriman  Lines. 

We  appreciate  very  much  your  motive  in  sending  in  this  amount, 
but  we  regret  very  much  to  say  that  we  cannot  accept  money  in  behalf 
of  the  strikers  on  the  basis  outlined  in  your  letter. 

All  donations  received  by  the  Grand  Lodge  must  be  sent  as  a  dona- 
tion per  circular  No.  10. 

We  are,  therefore,  returning  the  check  to  you  and  ask  that  if  you 
still  desire  it  to  be  sent  to  them,  as  per  your  letter,  that  you  will  send 
check  direct  With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

GEORGE  B.   PRESTON, 

G.  S.  T. 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS,  BLOOMINGTON  LODGE,  No.  342. 

BLOOMINGTON,  ILL.,  Sept.  18,  1913. 
MR.  L.  M.  HAWVER,  President  District  No.  21. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  As  you  requested,  so  we  will  respond.  In 
September,  1912,  we  sent  Brother  Preston,  General  Secreteary  and  Treas- 
urer, the  sum  of  $432  to  be  divided  as  follows:  40  per  cent  to  the  I.  C. 
and  60  per  cent  to  the  Harriman  Lines,  and  he  sent  back  word  if  we 
wished  it  that  way  we  would  have  to  do  it  ourselves,  as  the  Grand  Lodge 
did  not  have  time.  Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     FRANK  DALTON, 
Financial  Secretary  No.  342. 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS, 
OFFICE  OF  BUSINESS  AGENT 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Nov.  6,  1912. 

Dear  Person:  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Lodge  No.  27,  at 
Kansas  City.  They  inclose  a  check  for  $28  made  out  in  my  name. 
I  have  sent  letter  to  Newman  so  that  he  may  make  entry.  He  will,  no 
doubt,  send  this  to  you  afterward  and  you  can  take  care  of  it. 

You  will  see  by  this  letter  that  it  is  another  one  where  the  Grand 
Lodge  would  not  forward  to  the  district,  that  is  the  last  one  they  sent. 
Well,  let  them  go.  We  will  get  them  yet. 

H.  J.  MOLLOT, 
..ours  for  the  revolution, 
Business  Agent  of  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

Paragraphs  3,  4,  5  and  6  of  Malloy's  letter  omitted ;  have 
no  bearing  on  the  strike. 


STRIKERS'  FUNDS  CONFISCATED  97 

UNION  LODGE,  No.  27,  INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS. 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  Nov.  4,  1912. 
ME.  H.  J.  MOLLOY,  Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Please  find  enclosed  check  for  $28  as  dona- 
tion to  the  I.  C.  from  Lodge  No.  27.  Please  receipt  me  for  same.  I  send 
same  to  you,  as  I  am  not  sure  as  to  who  receives  donations.  We  have 
been  sending  THROUGH  THE  GRAND  LODGE,  BUT  THEY  RE- 
TURNED THE  LAST  DONATION. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  success,  I  remain, 

C.  J.  LATHAM, 
Financial  Secretary,  No.  27. 

Two  HARBORS,  MINN.,  Oct.  21,  1912. 
MR.  WM.  A.  NEWMAN,  Secretary-Treasurer. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Enclosed  find  bank  draft  for  $23.60,  or  40 
per  cent  of  $59.  I  sent  the  money  to  the  GRAND  LODGE  to  be  sent 
to  you,  but  they  returned  it  to  me.  Please  send  receipt. 

Yours  for  federation  and  success, 

J.  H.  ROBBINS, 
Financial  Secretary  No.  647. 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Oct.  28,  1912. 
MR.  J.  H.  ROBBINS,  Box  No.  368,  Two  Harbors,  Minn. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  recent  date  to  our  Mr.  New- 
man fully  noted.  I  am  herewith  forwarding  you  receipt  for  the  money 
sent,  with  many  thanks. 

I  have  your  letter  on  file  wherein  you  asked  me  to  let  you  know  if 
we  received  the  money  sent  us  thru  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  from  your  let- 
ter I  understand  that  they  would  not  forward  it  as  per  your  instructions. 
From  this  you  can  understand  what  co-operation  they  are  giving  us. 

We  are  doing  all  we  can  to  win  this  strike  and  with  the  assistance 
and  co-operation  of  the  men  that  are  working  we  hope  to  be  able  to 
prosecute  this  strike  to  a  successful  termination. 

Again  thanking  you  for  your  large  donation  to  our  strike  fund,  and 
with  the  best  of  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  for  federation, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 

Such  were  the  conditions  for  any  lodge  that  tried  to  get 
the  money  to  the  men  on  strike.  The  only  way  the  Grand 
Lodge  would  accept  the  money  was  to  accept  it  into  the  Grand 
Lodge  treasury,  and  still  there  were  some  men  who  did  not 
realize  that  the  most  important  strike  breakers  the  men  on 
the  line  had  to  contend  with  were  their  own  "Grand  Lodge 
officers."  The  only  fence  that  they  have  to  lean  on  is  circular 


98  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

No.  10  sent  out  by  Mr.  Johnston  in  March,  1912,  the  very  cir- 
cular that  I  have  already  proven  to  your  satisfaction  to  be  an 
appeal  in  behalf  of  the  men  on  strike.  And  there  can  be  no 
question  about  the  intentions  of  the  locals  making  the  dona- 
tions or  having  the  assessments  on  for  the  strikers,  as  they 
specify  in  their  letters  that  their  money  was  for  the  men  on 
strike,  and  that  it  could  not  be  used  any  other  way.  Then  the 
Grand  Lodge,  rather  than  lay  themselves  liable  any  further, 
take  and  send  them  the  money  back  again,  instead  of  comply- 
ing with  the  constitution,  which  reads  as  follows  regarding 
this  subject: 

Article  3,  section  7  (under  caption  of  Voluntary  Donations),  line  3: 
"All  moneys  sent  for  financial  aid  from  one  lodge  for  another  shall  be 
sent  through  the  Secretary-Treasurer,  who  will  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  same  in  the  following  financial  statement." 

• 

In  accordance  with  the  Machinists'  constitution,  it  was  the 
full  duty  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  accept  this  money,  make  a 
record  of  it  on  their  books  and  then  f  orward  it  to  the  men  on 
strike  to  whom  the  donations  had  been  made.  Mr.  Johnston 
as  President  of  the  association  had  no  right  to  switch  any  of 
these  donations  into  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury,  or  have  them 
so  ordered.  Mr.  George  Preston  had  no  constitutional  right 
to  refuse  the  use  of  his  office  in  sending  this  money  to  the  men 
on  strike.  But  such  were  the  conditions  on  the  struck  roads, 
and  because  of  these  conditions  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Lines  was  lost,  and  for  no  other  cause. 

I  again  wish  to  introduce  Mr.  Buckalew,  President  John- 
ston's confidential  man  in  the  strike  zone.  Mr.  Buckalew  is 
one  of  the  stars  in  this  part  of  the  play  and  it  is  important  to 
carefully  weigh  his  testimony,  so  that  you  can  fully  under- 
stand him  while  performing  when  caught  in  the  cyclone. 

CHICAGO*  ILL.,  Oct.  21,  1912. 
CARL  E.  PERSON,  Asst.  Secy.  Dist.  No.  21,  Clinton,  HI. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  had  a  talk  with  Harry  Carr  of  the  Rock 
Island  Lines  and  he  tells  me  that  he  has  done  as  I  requested  him  to  do, 
write  all  the  lodges  under  him  to  send  the  money  direct  to  the  district. 


JOHNSTON'S  OFFER  TO  COMPROMISE         99 

instead  of  the  "THE  CONFISCATION  ROUTE."    I  have  in  mind  a 
few  other  places  that  will  do  the  same  as  soon  as  I  can  get  to  them. 

I  understand  they  are  looking  for  some  evidence  to  get  me  for 
"INSUBORDINATION."  That  will  be  awful,  won't  it? 

Yours  for  a  fight  to  the  finish, 

J.  A.  BUCKALEW, 
Int.  Vice  President  I.  A.  of  M. 

You  will  understand  that  the  Grand  Lodge  is  now  getting 
after  their  man  Jack  Buckalew  and  his  letter  indicates  the 
Washington  "spotter"  is  looking  for  evidence  to  take  him  in 
on.  Therefore,  let  us  carefully  note  if  Jack  Buckalew  was  big 
enough  to  stand  his  ground  in  the  storm  that  followed. 


JOHNSTON'S  OFFER  TO  COMPROMISE 

President  Johnston  wired  Buckalew  and  Malloy  to  go  to 
Clinton  and  from  there  take  me  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  we 
were  to  meet  President  Johnston  for  a  conference  at  the  new 
St.  James  Hotel.  Both  Buckalew  and  Molloy  drove  into  "The 
Camp"  and  served  me  with  the  indictment.  Both  of  them 
appeared  nervous,  and  Jack  Buckalew  started  to  explain  that 
he  was  a  Grand  Lodge  Vice  President,  etc.,  and  that  it  was 
best  that  he  "went  along"  with  the  machine  as  far  as  possible. 
As  soon  as  I  said,  "Why,  sure,  Jack;  we  will  go  down  and 
meet  his  'highness'  and  I  will  take  the  responsibility  for  the 
furnace  'being  shook  up.'  Both  you  and  Molloy  can  play 
ignorant  of  what  has  been  done."  The  melancholy  expres- 
sions on  both  of  them  disappeared  when  they  found  that  I 
was  willing  to  shoulder  the  responsibility  for  the  "entire  war 
cabinet." 

We  arrived  in  St.  Louis  on  an  early  morning  train.  Of 
course,  I  was  a  crude  looking  individual — hadn't  been  out  of 
the  corn-belt  for  a  long  time — and  here  I  was  about  to  meet 
the  "President"  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  rules  of  metropol- 
itan etiquette.  My  only  college  education  was  my  "round- 
house dictionary."  But  Buckalew  and  Molloy  were  fine  trav- 
eling companions  and  manicured  me  up  the  best  they  could 


100  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

for  the  appointment.  There  was  only  one  spot  that  they 
couldn't  sandpaper,  and  that  was  my  determination  "to  ask 
no  favors  and  give  none,"  and  so  we  met  the  "President." 

The  conference  took  place  at  the  St.  James  Hotel,  where 
a  room  had  been  arranged  for  the  occasion.  After  the  cus- 
tomary greetings,  Mr.  Wharton  fixed  the  position  of  several 
chairs  into  a  circle  at  one  side  of  the  room,  which  left  Buckalew 
and  Molloy  sitting  on  the  side  of  the  bed.  While  I  was  wait- 
ing for  Mr.  Johnston  to  introduce  the  charges  for  which  I 
had  been  called  on  the  carpet,  he  slowly  extracted  a  small  book 
from  a  handful  of  documents  that  he  had  lifted  from  his  inside 
coat  pocket,  and  simultaneously  precipitated  his  vision  towards 
Mr.  Wharton. 

As  I  turned  around  to  search  for  the  attracting  causes  of 
Mr.  Johnston's  peculiar  actions,  I  observed  Mr.  Wharton  giv- 
ing Buckalew  and  Molloy  a  Bowery  drop  from  the  corner  of 
his  eye. 

"Yes,  I've  been  a  comrade  now  for  eighteen  years,"  said 
Mr.  Johnston,  and  as  he  passed  a  small  book  over  to  Buckalew 
he  added,  "and  I  was  the  party's  choice  as  candidate  for 
governor  of  Massachusetts  at  one  time." 

"I  am  proud  of  my  red  ticket,"  said  Wharton  as  he  started 
to  pass  his  due-book  around  for  inspection. 

"We  have  a  fine  little  movement  in  Topeka,"  said  Buck- 
alew as  he  started  his  book  out  for  the  once-over  by  the 
comrades. 

As  I  sat  there  perfectly  injured  over  the  cheapness  of  the 
situation,  smiling  Hugh  Molloy  was  introducing  his  ticket, 
after  which  a  conversation  was  carried  on  for  my  benefit.  They 
had,  of  course,  agreed  among  themselves  to  put  on  this  pre- 
liminary show  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  me  to  "come 
along,"  being  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  had  read  Bellamy's 
Looking  Backward  with  great  delight  and  considered  Karl 
Marx  one  of  the  family. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Johnston  discovered  that  his  grandstand 
play  of  trying  to  get  harmony  restored  on  the  strength  of 


JOHNSTON'S  OFFER  TO  COMPROMISE       101 

his  red  ticket  was  a  failure,  the  question  of  the  last  circular 
letter  that  I  had  sent  out  from  Clinton  charging  the  Grand 
Lodge  with  confiscating  the  money  came  up. 

Mr.  Johnston  protested  against  the  word  "confiscation" 
being  used,  and  I  said  that  I  thought  "confiscation"  very 
appropriately  described  what  his  Grand  Lodge  office  was  doing 
with  the  strikers'  money.  Well,  he  said  this  circularization  had 
to  be  stopped ;  that  he  would  not  tolerate  it,  and  therefore  was 
willing  to  come  part  way  with  the  strikers.  Mr.  Johnston 
said  that  Mr.  Wharton  and  himself  had  talked  it  over  and  that 
he  would  give  the  men  on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  25%  of  the  strike  assessments  and  donation. 
Buckalew  said  nothing,  and  Malloy  the  same.  While  they 
were  waiting  for  me  to  say  something  Mr.  Wharton  spoke 
up  and  said  that  he  thought  this  was  a  very  generous  propo- 
sition. I  then  told  them  that  I  wanted  to  get  for  the  men 
on  strike  every  penny  that  was  theirs,  and  if  he  was  not  will- 
ing to  concede  this,  I  could  take  nothing.  I  told  him  I  had 
no  authority  to  give  the  Grand  Lodge  75%  of  funds  that 
were  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike — the  men  who  were 
putting  up  the  fight  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines — and  that  such  property  had  been  donated  by  certain 
machinist  locals  for  the  men  on  strike.  Mr.  Johnston  then 
declared  that  the  strikers  would  not  get  anything.  "Very  well," 
said  I,  "we  shall  continue  to  fight  you  for  this  money  that 
belongs  to  the  men  on  strike." 

I  returned  to  Clinton,  111.,  where  President  Hawver  of 
the  District  had  also  arrived,  and  told  him  of  the  St.  Louis 
proposition  made  by  Mr.  Johnston  and  Mr.  Wharton.  He 
had  heard  that  Mr.  Johnston  was  to  be  in  Chicago  the  follow- 
ing day  and  wired  Malloy  to  meet  myself  and  President  Haw- 
ver in  Chicago,  where  we  also  met  Mr.  P.  J.  Jenson,  an  execu- 
tive member  of  the  District.  We  found  President  Johnston 
at  the  Kaiserhof  Hotel,  where  he  was  in  conference  with  a 
committee  representing  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  machin- 
ists. We  were  granted  a  conference  in  which  we  further  dis- 


102  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

cussed  the  subject,  but  he  stood  by  his  St.  Louis  proposition 
of  25%  for  the  men  on  strike  out  of  the  money  that  had  been 
donated  them,  or  nothing.  Here  President  Hawver  of  the  Dis- 
trict served  notice  on  Mr.  Johnston  that  there  would  be  war 
with  "no  compromise"  if  he  was  going  to  hold  up  the  men 
on  strike  by  confiscating  the  donations  made  to  them,  and  that 
we  should  at  least  carry  this  information  to  those  that  were 
making  these  donations,  so  that  if  they  still  sent  their  money 
through  the  Grand  Lodge  they  would  know  that  they  were 
not  assisting  the  men  on  strike,  but  assisting  the  Grand  Lodge 
treasury  and  helping  to  feed  its  subsidiaries. 

By  this  time,  as  you  can  understood,  the  District  that  Jack 
Buckalew  carried  into  the  "Rebel's  Nest"  on  that  sunshiny 
August  day  was  very  much  alive.  We  had  been  successful  in 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  Washington  office  and  they  had 
offered  to  compromise  on  the  funds.  If  this  money  was  not  the 
property  of  the  men  on  strike,  then  Mr.  Johnston  had  no  right 
to  make  us  an  offer  of  the  25  %  of  the  money,  and  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Johnston  made  this  offer  of  25%  was  an  admission  that 
the  money  was  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike,  who,  in  this 
case,  were  entitled  to  all  of  this  money. 

THE  FEDERATION  REORGANIZED 

At  the  time  of  my  appointment  as  strike  Secretary  for 
the  District,  I  accepted  the  work  under  the  conditions  that 
as  soon  as  we  could  get  some  life  into  the  district  this  organi- 
zation would  be  turned  over  to  the  Federation,  inasmuch  as  it 
was  a  federation  that  we  went  on  strike  for,  and  that  the  move- 
ment to  get  the  proper  and  best  results  must  be  handled  as 
a  federated  strike.  The  time  had  arrived  when  the  change 
should  be  made,  so  that  all  of  the  International  Presidents 
could  be  "oiled  up."  President  J.  F.  McCreery  was  still  sit- 
ing on  "the  corpse"  of  the  Federation  in  Paducah,  Ky.,  while 
he  should  have  been  on  the  job  shaking  things  up,  as  was  done 
in  the  Machinist  organization  through  the  District.  Business 


THE  FEDERATION  REORGANIZED          103 

Agent  Molloy  and  President  Hawver  of  the  District  wired  for 
Mr.  J.  F.  McCreery,  President  of  the  Federation,  to  come  to 
Clinton. 

Mr.  McCreery  drove  in  and  he  was  informed  of  what  had 
been  accomplished  through  the  Machinist  District,  and  seemed 
to  be  more  than  satisfied.  Mr.  Molloy  and  Mr.  Hawver 
offered  to  give  him  the  Machinist  District,  but  demanded  that 
he  run  it  as  a  Federation  and  get  things  stirred  up  and  into 
action  in  all  the  organizations  affiliated  with  the  Federation, 
and  that  he  keep  things  stirred  up  so  that  it  would  be  known 
that  there  was  a  strike  on.  Vice  President  J.  F.  Schmidt  of  the 
Boilermakers  and  Mr.  A.  O.  Hoard  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Work- 
ers had  called  in  at  the  "camp"  and  they,  too,  agreed  that  we 
should  all  get  together  on  the  federated  basis  of  handling  the 
strike.  Mr.  McCreery  accepted  the  proposition  Mr.  Molloy 
and  Mr.  Hawver  made  him,  and  stated  that  he  could  only  act 
as  President,  as  he  had  in  the  past,  and  that  he  thought  the 
proposition  was  too  big  for  his  secretary,  Mr.  W.  E.  Bowen 
of  New  Orleans ;  further,  that  Mr.  Bowen  was  not  equipped 
to  handle  the  situation. 

It  was  then  suggested  that  I  should  serve  them  as  secretary 
for  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation.  I  refused  on  the 
grounds  that  I  had  done  my  share  in  getting  the  District  into 
action  for  them,  and  now  that  they  had  something  to  start  with 
there  was  no  need  of  my  services  in  the  future.  For  three 
days  they  looked  around  for  someone  to  serve  them  as  the 
secretary  for  the  Federation  and  could  find  no  one  that  was 
willing  to  take  it.  Mr.  McCreery,  Mr.  Hawver  and  Mr. 
Molloy  then  decided  that  if  I  could  not  be  persuaded  to  accept 
the  secretaryship  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation, 
they  wouldn't  be  able  to  carry  out  their  expectations  of  finally 
getting  the  strike  handled  on  federated  basis.  Rather  than 
to  see  what  we  had  already  accomplished  "go  under,"  I  con- 
sented to  act  as  their  secretary,  and  a  declaration  was  drawn 
up  and  signed  by  Mr.  McCreery,  Mr.  Hawver  and  Mr.  Mol- 
loy of  what  was  to  be  done,  such  as  inaugurating  a  federated 


104  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

effort  in  the  handling  of  the  strike,  start  a  strike  bulletin 
in  newspaper  form,  route  speakers,  make  arrangements  for 
mass  meetings  and  inaugurate  every  federated  effort  in  the 
handling  of  the  strike  that  it  would  be  possible  to  inaugurate, 
place  pickets  at  as  many  points  as  possible  and  increase  their 
number  as  soon  as  financial  conditions  would  warrant  and  solicit 
funds,  etc. 

I  requested  President  McCreery  of  the  Federation  to  sub- 
mit the  proposition  that  was  made  to  his  Federation  by  the 
District  officers  to  all  of  his  Executive  Board  members,  to  the 
Executive  Board  members  and  Advisory  Board  of  the  Fed- 
eration which  was  elected  at  the  Memphis  convention  on  May  1, 
1911.  If  they  would  approve  of  the  proposition  as  made  by 
the  District  officers,  including  my  election  as  secretary  of 
the  Federation,  then  very  well,  I  would  go  to  work,  for  I 
would  then  be  the  authorized  and  legal  Secretary  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  System  Federation,  just  as  much  as  Mr.  McCreery 
was  its  President. 

Before  Mr.  McCreery  left  on  an  evening  train,  the  War 
Cabinet  had  a  meeting.  It  was  here  understood  that  Mr. 
McCreery  was  going  out  on  the  road,  and  also  his  former  sec- 
retary, W.  E.  Bowen  of  New  Orleans,  to  hold  meetings,  raise 
funds,  etc.,  and  the  District  officers  and  Mr.  J.  F.  McCreery 
signed  up  all  the  documents.  I  was  afraid  that  some  of  them 
would  get  yellow,  especially  Mr.  McCreery,  who  had  sat  on  the 
coffin  so  long  in  Paducah.  I  figured  that  if  it  was  possible 
to  get  him  to  "brush  up"  at  all,  it  would  be  a  spasmodic  demon- 
stration and  would  wear  off  in  time,  like  the  little  girl  who 
got  a  new  doll  and  sat  up  all  night  with  it,  then  let  the  puppy 
pull  its  hair  out  and  little  Brother  Mike  the  sawdust  from 
its  legs. 

I  asked  President  McCreery  and  the  rest  of  the  "War  Cab- 
inet" what  their  position  would  be  when  the  chiefs  should  hear 
of  this  new  undertaking  and  start  to  fight  us.  Mr.  McCreery 
jumped  to  the  floor  and  declared  to  h — 1  with  anyone  that 
would  hinder  or  interfere  with  his  sacred  undertaking,  and, 


THE  FEDERATION  REORGANIZED  105 

as  he  fell  over  the  table  to  throw  me  his  hand  of  good  fel- 
lowship and  assurance,  that  although  others  might  falter  or 
drop  by  the  wayside,  I  would  always  find  him  as  a  comrade  near, 
and  if  we  should  get  caught  in  the  storm  he  would  always  be 
there  with  his  sturdy  arm  of  protection. 

Business  Agent  Molloy  and  President  Hawver  of  the  Dis- 
trict said  that  here  is  for  war  on  the  "strikebreakers"  mean- 
ing the  Grand  Lodge  officers.  I  stated  my  position  and  that 
I  was  going  to  go  the  limit  and  had  decided  to  "play  ball" 
and  expected  them  to  do  the  same ;  but  regardless  of  what  they 
would  do,  I  was  going  on  and  would  not  lose  any  time  over 
them  should  they  get  yellow.  The  District  then  paid  the  ex- 
penses of  President  J.  F.  McCreery's  trip  from  Paducah  to 
Clinton  and  return  of  $28.25,  and  Mr.  McCreery  left  to  submit 
the  new  proposition  to  his  entire  Advisory  Board  on  the  Sys- 
tem Federation,  which  he  did  in  a  letter  dated  at  Paducah, 
Ky.,  November  5,  1912,  and  reads  as  follows: 

PADTTCAH,  KY.,  November  5,  1912. 

To  THE  MEMBERS  OP  THE  EXECUTIVE  BOAHD  OF  THE  I.  C.  SYSTEM  AND 
ALLIED  LINES: 

Brothers:  Greeting:  The  following  letter  received  from  the  officers 
of  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.: 

"Clinton,  111.,  November  3,  1912. 
"Mr.  J.  F.  McCreery, 

"President  I.  C.  Federation, 
"Paducah,  Ky. 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  We  are  in  receipt  of  information  that  the 
official  bulletin  of  the  Federation  will  be  discontinued  within  a  short  time 
because  of  financial  difficulties.  We  believe  it  important  that  a  bulletin 
be  published  and  are  willing  to  co-operate  with  the  System  Federation 
in  order  to  bring  this  condition  about. 

"You  no  doubt  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  District  No.  21  has  been 
publishing  a  bulletin  which,  from  comments  made,  is  very  satisfactory. 
Because  of  this  we  do  not  wish  to  discontinue  our  bulletin;  neither  do  we 
wish  to  continue  it  if  by  so  doing  we  would  stir  up  any  discord  in  any 
craft  affiliated  with  our  Federation. 

"If  you  wish  to  co-operate  with  us  in  an  effort  to  bring  about  a  bet- 
ter bulletin  than  we  now  publish  we  would  like  that  you  submit  to  the 
Executive  Board  of  the  Federation  this  proposition. 

"We  have  learned  by  experience  that  the  broader  circulation  our 
bulletin  has  had,  the  more  effective  our  strike  has  been.  Recently  Dis- 


106  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

trict  No.  21  made  an  effort  to  guarantee  additional  pay  to  the  pickets 
and  sent  out  appeals  for  financial  assistance  in  order  to  maintain  such 
pickets.  We  find  that  those  organizations  donating  on  these  appeals  are 
desirous  of  having  our  strike  bulletin.  Because  of  this  we  feel  that  the 
bulletin  should  be  enlarged  and  a  copy  sent  to  all  those  lodges  making 
donations.  This  plan  has  been  very  successful  in  our  district  and  we 
feel  that  with  the  proper  interest  taken  in  promoting  the  same  systematic 
campaign  in  the  Federation  that  a  federated  bulletin,  appeals  from  the 
Federation,  pickets  under  the  direction  of  the  Federation  and  all  the  mat- 
ters to  be  handled  through  the  Federation  as  a  federation  can  be  made 
equally  effective. 

"We  hope  that  you  will  submit  this  matter  to  your  Executive  Board 
and  upon  the  approval  of  same  that  this  method  be  put  in  effect  as  early 
as  possible. 

"Yours  for  federation, 

"L.  M.  HAWVER, 
"President,  District  No.  21. 

"H.  J.  MOLLOT, 
"Business  Agent,  No.  21." 


After  going  over  the  subject  matter  of  this  letter,  I  see  no  reason 
why,  if  this  plan  as  outlined  by  them  has  been  so  successful  with  District 
No.  21,  it  could  not  be  adopted  and  put  in  use  for  the  Federation  as  a 
whole. 

In  taking  up  the  matter  with  them  I  find  that  they  are  willing  to 
co-operate  with  us  in  handling  this  matter,  and  Brother  Carl  Person, 
who  is  now  getting  out  the  Clinton  bulletin,  has  offered  to  take  charge 
of  this  matter  and  issue  the  bulletin  from  Clinton,  where  he  has  the 
facilities,  as  well  as  it  being  one  of  the  central  points  on  the  system,  and 
that  the  bulletin  be  issued  from  this  office,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
that  the  strike  bulletin  be  gotten  out  in  newspaper  form,  issued  weekly, 
for  which  subscribers  will  be  solicited  at  ten  cents  for  six  months,  or  as 
much  as  a  subscriber  wishes  to  give,  and  that  an  effort  will  be  made  to 
get  as  many  subscribers  as  possible,  and  we  hope  to  be  able  to  get  some 
ten  thousand  of  them. 

Such  money  that  is  made  on  the  strike  bulletin,  and  other  money  that 
can  be  raised,  will  be  used  to  maintain  such  pickets  at  the  different  points 
on  the  system  that  is  necessary  for  the  best  interest  of  this  movement, 
and  in  this  way  to  concentrate  our  efforts  in  one  line  of  action,  or  in  this 
way  carry  out  a  federated  effort  in  handling  the  strike. 

Brothers,  it  is  very  plain  to  be  seen  that  we  cannot  exist  as  a  Federa- 
tion along  the  line  that  has  been  followed  out  as  per  the  constitution,  and 
therefore  we  must  devise  such  means  and  ways  that  is  to  the  best  interest 
of  this  movement  at  this  time,  and  with  this  view  to  end  I  am  submitting 
to  you  the  proposition  as  outlined  in  this  letter. 

After  due  consideration  of  this  matter,  please  advise  me  before  the 
10th  of  November. 

Yours  for  federation, 

(Signed)  J.  F.  MCCREERV, 
President,  I.  C.  Federation. 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     107 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT 

In  the  meantime  h — 1  was  popping  in  Washington.  The 
Water  Valley  letter  that  was  sent  out  for  the  purpose  of  break- 
ing the  strike  and,  according  to  Jack  Buckalew,  against  the 
best  interest  of  the  men  on  strike,  was  fully  considered  by 
General  Secretary-Treasurer  Preston  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  inas- 
much as  a  portion  of  the  Water  Valley  letter  accused  the  Dis- 
trict officers  of  building  up  an  organization  just  to  make  jobs 
for  themselves.  Therefore,  Mr.  Preston  started  out  to  make 
an  investigation  and  wrote  as  follows : 

November  2,  1912. 
Ma.  C.  E.  PERSON, 

District  No.  21. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Owing  to  the  statement  made  broadcast  by 
No.  61  to  the  effect  that  President  Hawver  is  drawing  from  the  voluntary 
fund  the  sum  of  eight  dollars  per  month,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
he  continues  his  name  on  the  payroll  for  Grand  Lodge  benefits,  I,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  International  President,  request  that  you  will  send  in 
at  your  earliest  convenience  statement  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements 
of  District  No.  21  since  the  commencement  of  the  strike. 

There  has  been  numerous  circulars  issued  by  the  International  Presi- 
dent of  the  other  organizations  involved,  and  in  contrast  hereto  several 
circulars  have  been  issued  by  District  No.  21,  seeking  to  counteract  the 
advice  and  instructions  of  the  International  President.  We  would  like 
to  have  statements  of  receipts  and  disbursements  of  District  No.  21,  so 
that  we  can  protect  not  only  the  Grand  Lodge,  but  the  GOOD  NAME 
of  the  District. 

I  also  desire  to  inquire  whether  you,  as  Assistant  Secretary,  are 
drawing  any  salary  similar  to  what  is  being  supposedly  paid  to  Hawver, 
and  we  would  especially  like  to  be  favored  with  a  statement  of  all 
amounts  paid  by  the  District  to  Business  Agent  Molloy.  In  fact  a  com- 
plete statement  of  receipts  and  disbursements  of  District  No.  21  appears 
to  be  necessary  for  the  future  protection  of  all  parties  concerned. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

GEO.  PRESTON, 

G.  S.  T. 


I  replied  to  Secretary  Preston  as  follows  to  enlighten  the 
gentleman  on  the  information  he  took  for  granted  as  the  truth 
in  the  Water  Valley  letter : 


108  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  November  16,  1913. 

MH.  GEO.  PRESTON, 

402  McGill  Bldg., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  have  your  letter  relative  to  our  financial 
standing.  Will  say  in  reply  that  in  a  few  days  we  shall  hope  to  forward 
you  the  required  information.  It  will  take  some  time  for  me  to  copy  it 
all  off  with  the  facilities  I  have  to  do  work  with.  However,  we  are  more 
than  glad  to  forward  you  with  any  and  all  information  relative  to  our 
financial  affairs. 

It  is  only  two  months  since  I  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  Dis- 
trict business  and  during  this  time  I  have  forwarded  President  Johnston 
with  a  financial  report.  I  am  herewith  forwarding  you  with  our  report 
for  October. 

I  note  what  you  say  in  regard  to  President  Hawver.  Our  report 
will  show  that  we  paid  him  for  the  month  of  October  $56.  I  also  note 
what  you  say  relative  to  our  H.  J.  Molloy.  We  paid  him  $50  for  October, 
which  was  allowed  to  us  by  the  Grand  Lodge.  Our  report  in  its  complete 
form  will  give  you  all  this  information. 

Next  comes  my  salary.  Our  report,  when  you  receive  it,  will  not 
show  where  there  was  any  money  paid  to  me.  The  Grand  Lodge  has 
paid  me  four  dollars  per  week  since  the  strike,  with  the  exception  of  the 
three  months  that  they  are  back  on  their  payments.  I  have  not  the  obli- 
gations to  meet  that  Brother  Hawver  and  Molloy  have,  and  therefore 
there  is  no  necessity  of  the  District  paying  ME. 

For  your  information  I  might  state  that  I  am  not  in  this  movement 
for  the  money  that  is  in  it,  BUT  FOR  THE  GOOD  I  CAN  DO  IT.  My 
head  is  not  filled  up  with  dollar  marks,  and  if  it  were,  I  would  go  some 
other  place  outside  of  the  labor  movement  to  exercise  it. 

Words  cannot  express  my  deep  appreciation  to  you  if  YOU  are,  as 
you  say,  trying  to  protect  the  good  name  of  District  No.  21.  However, 
I  am  very  much  inclined  to  believe,  from  the  support  we  have  already 
received  from  the  Grand  Lodge  in  the  past  in  the  handling  of  this  strike, 
that  if  we  were  to  leave  it  to  the  Grand  Lodge  to  protect  its  so-called 
"GOOD  NAME,"  we  would  be  placing  it  in  jeopardy  and  with  some  very 
reckless  company;  and  because  of  this  you  shall  find  us  very  much  on  the 
job  when  the  District's  interest  is  in  question,  and  we  shall  try  and  assist 
you  as  much  as  possible  in  defending  its  "GOOD  NAME." 

We  shall  continue  our  fight  for  federation  in  a  vigorous  campaign, 
and  in  this  we  shall  court  criticism  and  challenge  investigation.  We  shall 
wage  our  battle  against  the  despots  of  organized  dollars  from  Wall  Street 
as  effectively  as  possible,  and  stand  ready  to  meet  all  their  auxiliaries 
on  the  same  degree  of  aggressiveness,  the  anti-federations  of  the  Machin- 
ist organizations  and  their  Washington  office  included. 

Thanking  you  for  your  inquiry,  and  hoping  that  we  will  be  able  to 
get  you  the  desired  information  without  too  much  delay,  I  am, 

Yours  for  victory, 

(Signed)  CARL  E.  PERSON. 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     109 

At  this  time  reports  were  coming  in  from  all  over  the 
country  from  different  lodges  that  they  were  unable  to  get 
their  money  through  the  Grand  Lodge  for  the  men  on  strike. 
It  was  therefore  decided  to  take  this  matter  up  with  President 
Johnston  and  call  his  attention  to  Secretary  Preston's  action 
in  returning  the  money  to  the  lodges  instead  of  sending  it  to 
the  men  on  strike  as  per  the  constitution.  I  therefore  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  President  Johnston: 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  November  9,  1912. 
MB.  WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

402  McGill  Bldg., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  want  to  inform  you  of  the  fact  that  some 
of  your  lodges  have  recently  sent  money  to  Preston  with  instructions 
that  this  money  should  be  sent  to  us.  The  money  has  been  returned  to 
the  lodges  with  information  that  the  Grand  Lodge  would  not  forward  this 
money  as  instructed. 

Such  has  been  the  case  with  Bloomington  Lodge,  Kansas  City,  Lodge 
No.  27,  Two  Harbors,  Minn.,  and  a  good  many  other  lodges.  I  have  good 
reasons  to  believe  that  this  work  is  carried  on  and  that  you  are  not  aware 
of  same,  and  for  this  reason  I  am  taking  the  matter  up  with  you. 

We  do  NOT  care  to  run  out  another  circular  letter  causing  more 
discord.  If  you  have  an  office  organization  that  is  carrying  on  this  work 
to  the  disinterest  of  our  efforts  and  you  not  knowing  about  it.  In  this  case 
it  would  not  be  the  proper  thing  to  circulate  the  lodges  again.  At  any 
rate,  I  cannot  believe  that  you  have  instructed  Preston  to  return  this 
money  and  not  forward  it  to  us. 

We  hope  to  hear  from  you  at  an  early  date  relative  to  this  matter, 
and  in  the  event  that  the  above  mentioned  is  your  instructions,  we  will 
send  out  a  letter  to  all  lodges  informing  them  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
has  refused  to  handle  our  money. 

Brother  Johnston,  we  have  at  this  time  an  organization.  We  have 
our  men  doing  effective  picket  work.  We  are  now  paying  them  four 
dollars  per  week  from  the  District..  We  are  advertising  the  strike  all 
over  the  country.  We  give  an  itemized  financial  statement  and  account 
for  every  cent  sent  us  every  month.  WE  WILL  fight  the  Grand  Lodge 
or  anyone  else  that  is  working  to  our  disinterest  in  making  our  strike 
effective.  We  are  on  the  job  to  see  this  strike  through  on  an  aggressive 
and  business-like  method.  A  few  of  us  will  sell  the  few  feet  of  real 
estate  we  have  acquired,  if  we  have  to,  in  order  to  prosecute  this  strike 
to  a  successful  termination. 

It  is,  indeed,  to  be  regretted  that  in  an  industrial  WAR  of  this  kind 
we  do  not  even  receive  the  co-operation  of  our  parent  organization,  an 
institution  of  which  we  are  part  and  parcel  of,  and  whose  future  exist- 
ence we  are  endeavoring  to  protect. 

If  we  have  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways  on  this  matter  at  this 
time,  WE  MIGHT  AS  WELL  DECLARE  WAR.  We  will  run  out  a 
circular  letter  every  day  if  necessary,  and  send  men  on  the  road  in 


110  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

order  to  get  the  money  that  is  coming  to  us,  and  the  money  that  is 
intended  for  the  men  on  strike. 

We  have  many  letters  on  file  at  this  office  from  different  lodges 
stating  that  they  have  been  of  the  opinion  that  all  this  time  we  have 
received  the  money  that  they  have  sent  through  the  Grand  Lodge  inde- 
pendent of  the  Grand  Lodge  benefits. 

You  will  see  from  our  financial  statement  that  we  will  forward 
you  in  a  couple  of  days  that  we  have  been  successful  in  getting  the 
money  lately,  which  are  good  indications  that  they  want  to  place  the 
money  with  the  district. 

We  shall  await  your  answer  with  much  interest,  and  hope  that  we 
can  get  your  co-operation  for  the  future  success  of  this  movement. 

Sincerely  yours, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 


President  Johnston  of  the  Machinists  was  absent  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  foregoing  letter,  and  therefore  Mr.  P.  J.  Conlon, 
Acting  President,  favored  us  with  the  following  reply : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  14,  1912. 
C.  E.  PERSON, 

District  No.  21. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Yours  of  the  9th  to  President  Johnston  to 
hand,  and  as  he  is  attending  the  A.  F.  of  L.  convention,  permit  me  to 
say  that  we  do  not  like  the  tone  of  your  letter  or  threat  to  circularize 
our  association  and  declare  war  on  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  if  we  do 
not  do  so  and  so.  THE  TAIL  HAS  WAGGED  THE  DOG  LONG 
ENOUGH,  and  mean  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  on  the  question  of 
issuing  a  circular. 

Our  G.  E.  B.  is  a  standing  jury  in  our  association  to  hear  any 
complaint  against  the  Grand  Lodge  officers,  and  you  have  access  to  that 
jury  always,  through  an  appeal,  which  has  not  been  exercised  up  to  date. 
Now,  any  further  circulars  issued  by  you  or  any  other  district  officer 
criticizing  or  ridiculing  the  Grand  Lodge  as  to  the  officers,  the  method 
of  handling  our  affairs,  without  first  seeking  redress  through  our 
G.  E.  B.,  will  be  sufficient  cause  for  us  to  suspend  the  officer  or  officers 
whose  names  are  attached  to  the  communication  and  the  date  on  same 
in  line  with  the  G.  E.  B.  at  its  last  session,  which  is  as  follows: 

IN  CASE  OF  REPETITION  OF  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  OUR 
INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  PRINTS,  WITH  OR 
WITHOUT  THE  PROPER  STEPS  BEING  TAKEN  ACCORDING 
TO  OUR  CONSTITUTION,  THIS  GENERAL  EXECUTIVE 
BOARD  WILL  FEEL  IT  TO  BE  ITS  DUTY  TO  TAKE  SUCH 
MEASURES  AS  MAY  BE  BEST  CALCULATED  TO  PUT  A  STOP 
TO  SUCH  PRACTICES. 

We  desire  to  say  that  some  lodges  have  sent  us  money  with  request 
it  be  sent  to  certain  places,  and,  as  we  have  seen  communications  which 
we  believe  are  responsible  for  such  instructions,  we  have  sent  them  our 
side  of  the  case  that  they  may  fully  understand  what  they  were  doing, 
and  in  most  cases  received  replies  that  our  explanation  was  satisfactory 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     111 

and  for  us  to  place  our  donation  in  the  General  Fund.  If  this  procedure 
does  not  meet  with  your  approval,  then  ask  the  G.  E.  B.  to  instruct 
Brother  Preston  to  handle  the  donations  in  accordance  with  your  wishes; 
that  until  you  take  up  any  grievances  with  the  Board,  we  want  to  warn 
.you  on  the  matter  of  issuing  any  more  circulars.  PLEASE  UNDER- 
STAND THAT  THE  ACT  ITSELF  WILL  SUSPEND  THOSE  RE- 
SPONSIBLE ON  THE  DATE  THE  CIRCULAR  IS  ISSUED. 

Fraternally  yours, 

P.  J.  CONLON, 
Acting  President  I.  A.  of  M. 


It  will  be  understood  here  that  Secretary  Preston's  action 
insofar  as  returning  such  money  as  they  could  not  switch  into 
the  Grand  Lodge  treasury  met  with  the  cherished  support  of 
Acting  President,  Mr.  Conlon,  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  His  letter 
indicates  further  that  when  the  money  arrived  at  the  Grand 
Lodge  office  with  special  instructions  that  it  was  for  the 
strikers,  independent  of  their  strike  benefits,  it  was  held  up 
until  sufficient  salesmanship  was  brought  to  bear  to  release 
the  money  into  the  treasury  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

In  reply  to  the  letter  of  Mr.  Conlon  in  which  he  instructs 
"the  tail  to  quit  wagging  his  dog,"  the  tail  again  shakes  up 
Pete  Conlon's  dog  with  the  following : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  November  17,  1912. 

MR.  P.  J.  CONLON,  President,  I.  A.  of  M., 
402  McGill  Bldg., 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  have  your  "belly-wash"  of  the  14th  inst. 
to  hand.  Have  noted  same  very  carefully.  I  am  herewith  forwarding 
you  our  October  report  with  a  letter  that  we  are  sending  out  to  your 
lodges.  You  can  consider  this  as  a  starter. 

If  YOU  think  that  I  am  going  to  lay  down  on  the  job  when  I  see 
an  organized  movement  in  motion  to  annihilate  Federation  and  the 
little  effort  the  workers  are  making  for  solidarity,  YOU  are  very  much 
mistaken  and  only  entertaining  delusions. 

If  in  the  event  I  am  presented  with  expulsion,  precipitation  and 
extermination  from  the  files  of  the  Washington  office,  I  shall  always 
remember  this  document  as  a  reminiscence  from  an  encounter  with 
the  powers  of  autocracy,  and  shall  always  refer  with  pride  to  its 
captivity.  I  am, 

Yours  for  expulsion, 

CARL  E.  PERSON". 


112  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

As  you  may  understand,  Mr.  Pete  Conlon  and  Mr.  John- 
ston and  his  Executive  Board  were  not  very  strong  for  pub- 
licity at  this  time.  They  did  not  want  the  "Worthy  Brothers" 
throughout  the  country  to  know  the  game  they  were  playing 
by  confiscating  the  strikers'  money,  so  that  they  could  keep 
the  Grand  Lodge  treasury  above  water  and  draw  their  salaries 
in  full  every  month  ( reference,  Machinists'  financial  state- 
ments from  1910  to  1916).  You'll  find  that  they  all  got  theirs, 
while  poor  Jones,  with  a  wife  and  seven  kids,  on  the  line,  who 
had  eight  dollars  per  week  coming  as  his  wages,  was  cut  down 
to  six  dollars.  At  that,  he  had  to  wait  a  couple  of  months 
for  it  before  he  got  it.  I  am  not  making  any  complaint  about 
the  constitutional  strike  benefits  for  Striker  Jones  on  the  line. 
The  complaint  was  that  the  money  donated  to  the  strikers, 
that  they  should  have  received  in  addition  to  their  Grand 
Lodge  strike  benefits,  was  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
used  by  them  to  meet  their  Grand  Lodge  obligations,  and 
therefore  not  placed  with  the  strikers  as  an  addition  to  their 
Grand  Lodge  strike  benefits,  which  was  the  intention  of  those 
who  were  making  the  donations. 

Had  the  strike  donations  not  been  confiscated  by  the  Grand 
Lodge,  but  distributed  to  the  men  on  the  picket  line,  it  would 
have  amounted  to  some  five  dollars  per  week.  Then,  if  the 
Grand  Lodge  was  unable  to  pay  their  constitutional  strike 
benefits,  the  men  on  the  line  would  have  to  wait  for  same,  but 
they  could  get  credit  or  make  loans  amounting  to  this  much, 
and  pay  such  loans  when  the  Grand  Lodge  could  make  their 
payments.  This  would  have  placed  some  sixteen  dollars  per 
week  to  the  men  on  the  line  and  they  could  have  stayed  there, 
put  up  a  fight  and  won  the  strike.  But  this  would  have  placed 
the  Grand  Lodge  in  the  position  of  cutting  down  Grand  Lodge 
expenses  or  putting  on  a  Grand  Lodge  assessment,  or  assum- 
ing an  indebtedness  of  back  strike  benefits  that  they  would 
have  to  meet  in  the  future.  Therefore,  they  decided  to  use 
the  voluntary  assessment  and  donations  that  was  the  property 
of  the  men  on  strike  when  paying  the  men  on  strike  their  Grand 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     113 

Lodge  wages.  So,  if  anyone  was  going  to  assume  an  indebt- 
edness in  the  future  on  account  of  the  strike,  they  were  deter- 
mined that  John  Jones,  Smith  and  Brown  on  the  line  were 
going  to  do  so. 

It  was  very  well  for  poor  Jones  to  slip  a  plaster  on  his  cot- 
tage for  the  sake  of  the  "cause,"  but  not  an  International 
union  whose  decision  it  was  that  Jones  must  go  on  strike  to 
build  up  respectability  for  that  International  union.  The 
consequence  was  that  the  International  union,  the  Grand 
Lodge,  came  out  of  the  strike  with  practically  the  same  bank 
account  that  they  went  into  the  strike  with  (reference,  Ma- 
chinists' financial  statement  for  September,  1911  and  1915), 
while  Jones  and  Brown  lost  the  cottage  on  the  hilltop  and 
Smith  his  furniture,  and  many  others  put  on  an  indebtedness 
for  many  years  to  come  because  of  the  principle  that  was  at 
stake.  These  men  were  the  real  men  in  the  struggle ;  they  paid 
the  price  while  the  Grand  Lodge  was  prospering  and  did  not 
place  itself  under  any  obligations  for  the  future.  Indeed, 
they  played  the  game  of  the  "other  woman  in  the  case"  who 
was  j  ilting  her  merchant  lover. 

To  turn  the  searchlight  of  publicity  on  this  underworld 
drama  was  not  to  be  tolerated  at  all.  Therefore,  Pete  Con- 
Ion's  letter  of  November  14  requesting  the  "tail  to  stop  wag- 
ging the  dog."  On  November  16,  1912,  a  circular  letter  of 
thanks  to  those  lodges  that  were  sending  their  money  direct 
to  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  was  sent  out,  accompanied 
with  an  itemized  financial  statement  of  all  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures. A  copy  was  also  sent  to  Washington,  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Machinists. 

The  following  letter,  which  was  a  District  circular,  was 
also  sent  to  Mr.  Conlon  with  my  letter  of  the  17th,  1912 : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  November  16,  1912. 
To  THE  MACHINIST  LODGE. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  We  are  herewith  forwarding  you  a  copy 
of  our  financial  statement  for  the  month  of  October.  From  this  you 
will  note  that  we  make  an  itemized  account  of  every  dollar  sent  us. 

We  note  from  our  Machinists'  journal  that  you  are  sending  your 


114  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

assessment  money  and  donation  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  because  of 
this  we  wish  to  inform  you  that  at  this  time  there  are  many  of  the  Machin- 
ist lodges  placing  their  money  with  us. 

We  are  placing  the  money  forwarded  us  in  such  channels  that  is 
for  the  best  interest  of  this  strike.  We  are  paying  those  who  are  on 
the  job  and  are  doing  picket  duty.  We  are  advertising  the  strike. 
We  are  sending  out  a  strike  bulletin.  We  are  maintaining  an  organi- 
zation that  is  putting  up  a  fight  and  making  the  strike  as  effective 
as  possible  here  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

If  in  the  future  you  can  see  your  way  clear  to  place  your  money 
with  us,  we  will  give  you  the  results  for  it;  give  you  an  account  for 
every  dollar  of  it;  place  it  in  such  channels  that  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  will  have  to  spend  many  hundred  dollars  for  every 
dollar  spent  by  you. 

The  Grand  Lodge  is  paying  strike  benefits  at  the  rate  of  four  and 
six  dollars  per  week  for  the  money  you  are  sending  them.  This  little 
amount  will  keep  nobody  on  the  job.  It  will  keep  no  movement  alive. 
It  will  not  handicap  the  company  in  running  their  trains,  and  because 
of  this  we  are  soliciting  your  money. 

Hoping  that  you  will  go  over  the  enclosed  report  carefully,  and 
thanking  you  for  past  favors  and  future  co-operation,  we  are, 
Yours  for  victory, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 

On  November  18  Secretary  George  Preston  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Machinists  issued  the  following  injunction,  which 

speaks  for  itself : 

DEPARTMENT  OF  G.  S.  T. 

November  18,  1912. 

Regardless  of  any  effect  the  circulars  issued  by  District  No.  21 
may  have  had  on  your  lodge,  we  deem  it  advisable  to  place  the  follow- 
ing in  your  hands: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  15,  1912. 

In  response  to  the  letters  we  have  received  from  our  lodges  in  regard 
to  circular  issued  by  District  No.  21,  I  beg  to  state  that  being  unable 
to  answer  each  letter  personally,  some  being  in  favor  and  some  opposed 
to  the  circular  referred  to,  I  beg  to  make  the  following  reply: 

The  men  issuing  these  circulars  and  those  in  whose  behalf  they  ARE 
SUPPOSEDLY  acting  have  received  from  the  Grand  Lodge  not  only 
its  surplus  on  hand  September  31,  1911,  but  have  received  practically 
the  entire  benefit  of  August  and  October,  1911,  assessment  plus  the  regu- 
lar income  of  the  Grand  Lodge  for  nearly  a  year.  In  addition  to  this 
we  have  paid  out  to  them  the  loans  obtained  from  local  lodges  (about 
$27,000)  on  which  we  are  paying  4J%  interest,  and  in  addition  thereto 
the  Grand  Lodge  is  now  indebted  for  strike  benefits  unpaid  reductions 
in  payrolls  to  these  men  the  sum  of  about  $200,000.  The  Grand  Lodge 
being  so  far  in  debt,  and  being  unable  to  continue  benefits  with  a  rea- 
sonable degree  of  promptness,  the  International  President  on  March  5, 
1912,  issued  circular  No.  10  and  requested  all  voluntary  donations  to  be 
sent  to  this  office  to  assist  the  Grand  Lodge  in  paying  benefits  equally. 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     115 

Later,  on  July  29,  he  sent  out  circular  No.  19,  requesting  all  lodges 
west  of  Chicago  to  levy  voluntary  assessments  of  $2.00  per  member 
per  month,  which  were  also  to  be  sent  to  the  Grand  Lodge  as  per 
agreement  of  the  International  officers  of  all  organizations  composing 
the  Federation  of  Federations.  Read  over  mentioned  circulars. 

After  all  we  have  done,  as  set  forth  briefly,  District  No.  21  in  the 
pretense  of  addressing  "THE  REBELS  OF  AN  ECONOMIC  WAR," 
tell  you  that  the  Grand  Lodge  is  "CONFISCATING  YOUR  FUNDS," 
and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  many  lodges,  as  the  result  of  said  circular, 
believe  such  an  unqualified  and  untrue  statement  to  be  correct. 

Let  me  inform  you  that  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
have  received  and  are  receiving  all  available  funds;  that  we  have  prac- 
tically no  other  strikes  on  hand.  Are  you  willing  to  allow  these  men 
to  receive  and  disburse  the  vast  voluntary  donations  and  assessments 
now  being  levied  by  our  organizations?  If  so,  let  me,  as  one  who  is 
not  officially  concerned,  suggest  that  the  proper  methods  would  be  to 
transfer  the  officers  of  District  No.  21  to  your  Grand  Lodge  headquarters. 

Brothers  Hawver,  President,  and  Carl  E.  Person,  Assistant  Sec- 
retary, signing  the  circular  as  District  No.  21,  are  the  only  two  men 
who  are  now  on  strike  at  Clinton,  111.,  and  are  still  receiving  benefits 
from  the  Grand  Lodge.  Brothers,  you  have  before  you  the  experience 
of  the  Santa  Fe  and  other  large  strikes.  BE  CAREFUL  WHAT  YOU 
DO.  Let  me  advise  that  at  least  you  consult  the  International  Presi- 
dent before  going  ahead.  In  answer  to  those  lodges  protesting  against 
the  action  of  District  No.  21,  let  me  explain  that  I  have  no  judicial 
authority. 

Yours  fraternally, 

GEO.  PRESTON,  G.  S.  T. 

Mr.  Geo.  Preston  in  paragraph  2  of  his  letter  tells  you 
how  expensive  the  strike  has  been  to  the  Association.  He  also 
tells  you  how  the  strike  was  keeping  the  Association  broke.  But 
his  association  in  convention  at  Davenport,  la.,  in  September, 
1911,  when  calling  this  strike  by  instructing  the  men  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  to  go  out  on  strike,  real- 
ized in  so  doing  that  they  put  them  on  the  Grand  Lodge  pay- 
roll, did  they  not?  If  the  Machinists'  Executive  Board  and 
its  convention  did  not  realize  that  they  added  thousands  of 
men  to  their  payrolls  by  calling  them  on  strike,  they  were  in 
Davenport  either  drunk  or  ignorant.  If  neither,  then  they 
must  have  expected  that  the  strike  would  cost  the  Association 
more  money,  and  should  have  made  provisions  for  such  con- 
ditions, or  else  face  the  music  with  the  men  who  went  on  strike. 

Mr.  Preston  does  not  mention  any  of  the  men  who  were  on 
strike,  and,  like  the  Association,  were  broke  because  the  Asso- 


116  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

ciation  put  them  on  strike.  These  things  are  never  taken  into 
consideration.  The  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  up  against  a 
proposition  that  was  too  big  for  them,  and  therefore  men  like 
Mr.  Preston  favored  such  propositions  as  the  Water  Valley 
circular,  which  Mr.  Buckalew  and  J.  F.  Schmidt  of  the  Boiler- 
makers said  was  the  work  of  the  company's  emissaries  because 
it  would  take  the  drain  off  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury.  Any 
proposition  was  welcome  that  would  relieve  them  to  this  effect. 

The  Grand  Lodge  was  up  against  five  specific  propositions 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Preston's  circular  and  they  chose  the  weak- 
est one  of  the  five :  First,  put  on  a  Grand  Lodge  assessment  to 
meet  expenses  with.  Second,  increase  the  per  capita  tax  to 
meet  expenses  with.  Third,  assume  an  indebtedness  for  the 
Association  to  meet  in  the  future  whenever  they  could,  of 
Grand  Lodge  officers,  Business  Agent  and  Organizers'  salaries 
and  strike  payrolls.  Fourth,  autocratically  declare  the  strike 
off.  Fifth,  confiscate  all  funds  donated  to  the  starving  victims 
of  the  strike  and  turn  them  into  the  channels  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  treasury.  As  it  took  less  courage  to  apply  the  fifth  one, 
the  fifth  was  applied.  And  like  a  railroad  when  it  runs  out  of 
coal,  they  confiscated  anything  in  sight  for  the  operation  of 
the  road.  But  when  a  railroad  takes  the  coal  it  notifies  the 
consignor  that  it  took  the  coal  and  will  pay  for  it.  It  wouldn't 
confiscate  anything,  use  it  for  itself  and  then  notify  the 
consignor  that  it  took  his  coal  and  dumped  it  for  the  poor  on 
their  tracks,  as  did  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Machinists.  They 
took  in  all  available  strike  funds  that  came  their  way  so  that 
they  could  operate  their  office  without  going  out  to  raise  their 
money  in  compliance  with  their  constitution. 

At  no  time  did  the  Machinists'  District  or  the  men  on 
strike  insist  on  any  funds  when  they  did  not  have  such  funds 
in  the  treasury.  But  the  Machinists'  District  insisted  that 
all  funds  which  were  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike,  the 
voluntary  assessments  and  donations  should  be  paid  to  the 
men  on  strike,  whether  or  not  they  ever  got  their  strike  bene- 
fits from  the  Grand  Lodge;  for  if  they  did  not,  then  they 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     117 

knew  that  they  had  this  much  money  coming  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  and  should  get  this  money  whenever  the  Grand  Lodge 
could  pay  it,  inasmuch  as  the  Grand  Lodge  would  be  respon- 
sible for  their  strike  benefits  until  they  were  taken  off  the  pay- 
rolls legally. 

The  Grand  Lodge  fully  realized  that  if  they  could  not 
pay  the  men,  they  would  be  indebted  to  them  in  the  future, 
just  as  they  would  be  if  they  were  unable  to  pay  their  Vice 
Presidents  and  Organizers.  But  in  the  meantime  the  Vice 
Presidents  and  Organizers  would  realize  that  they  had  their 
wages  coming  to  them  and  would  be  able  to  get  credit,  if 
necessary.  Had  the  men  on  strike  received  the  donations  and 
assessment  money  that  was  sent  them  in  care  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  as  they  should,  they  could  have  received  credit  for  the 
money  that  was  due  them  as  Grand  Lodge  strike  benefits  and 
then  it  would  have  been  possible  to  keep  enough  of  them  or, 
the  line  to  put  up  a  fight  of  such  nature  that  would  have  won 
the  strike. 

Therefore,  such  letters  as  the  circular  of  November  18, 
1912,  by  George  Preston  in  which  he  played  up  the  poverty  of 
the  Grand  Lodge.  Sometimes  in  strikes  the  same  song  can 
be  heard  by  some  individual  when  he  is  about  to  go  back 
on  his  fellows.  He  generally  has  a  long  cry  and  plays  the 
poverty  game  or  tells  what  he  has  done  and  that  he  can- 
not stand  it  any  longer.  In  this  latter  case,  however,  there 
may  possibly  be  some  excuse,  but  what  about  an  organization 
that  took  upon  itself  certain  responsibilities  and  knew  what 
it  was  doing  at  the  time  it  assumed  such  responsibilities  and 
then  is  not  large  enough  to  face  the  music  and  face  it  like 
real  men?  Mr.  Preston,  in  order  to  make  his  song  effective, 
made  an  effort  to  convey  the  impression  that  there  were  only 
two  men  on  strike  and  that  the  money  that  was  solicited  was  for 
Mr.  L.  M.  Hawver  and  Carl  Person,  thinking  that  this  would 
vindicate  him,  and  further  that  there  was  something  shady 
pulled  off  during  the  Santa  Fe  strike,  when  he  had  in  his  pos- 
session the  financial  statement  for  October,  for  the  month 


118 


THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 


previous  to  his  circular,  which  speaks  for  itself  and  reads  as 
follows : 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  DISTRICT  No.  21,  I.  A.  OF  M.,  WHO  ARE  ON 

STRIKE   ON  THE   ILLINOIS   CENTRAL   RAILROAD  FOR   THE   MONTH 

OF  OCTOBER,  1912 

MONEY  RECEIVED 


Lodge  No.  Amount 

408 $  6.00 

666 12.40 

152 13.60 

52 10.00 

195 13.80 

66 10.00 

479 22.50 

136 70.50 

573 10.00 

507 27.50 

100 40.00 

509 16.00 

346 10.60 

469 20.00 

141 14.60 

492 25.00 

62 5.00 

155 19.80 

222 50.00 

9. .  30.40 


Lodge  No.  Amount 

636 $  10.00 

358 10.00 

161 4.00 

16 9.60 

423 5.00 

317 5.25 

647 23.60 

352 6.00 

683 14.50 

369 5.00 

86 29.60 

593 32.00 

595 5.00 

360 73.60 

166 10.00 

80 20.00 

Grand  Lodge 50.00 

Howard  Tuddle..  1.00 


Total  Receipts $741.85 


STRIKE  BENEFITS  PAID  TO 


City  Amount 

Waterloo    $  20.00 

Freeport 30.00 

Clinton 20.00 

Champaign 20.00 

Mattoon    .  20.00 


City  Amount 

Louisville .$  12.00 

Paducah 40.00 

Jackson 10.00 

Centralia 20.00 

New  Orleans . .  20.00 


Evansville 20.00       Water  Valley 50.00 

Princeton   10.00       McComb    40.00 

Cairo 10.00      Vicksburg 40.00 

Mounds  10.00 

Total    $392.00 

EXPENSES 

WILLIAM  A.  NEWMAN,  SECRETARY-TREASURER 

Salary  $  15.00 

Postage ; 7.25 

Exchange 2.80 

Railroad  fare  and  express 7.50 

Telegrams 80 

Incidentals     ,  1.50 


Total 


WASHINGTON  IN  GREAT  EXCITEMENT     119 

H.  J.  MOLLOY,  BUSINESS  AGENT 

Salary  $  50.00 

Postage  and  supplies 6.45 

Phone    1.10 

Carfare 2.00 


Total  $  59.55 

L.  M.  HAWVER,  DISTRICT  PRESIDENT 

Salary  $  56.00 

Railroad  fare  and  expenses 11.12 


Total  $  67.12 

EXPENSES  AT  STRIKE  HEADQUARTERS 

U.  S.  postage $  36.00 

H.  B.  Dick  &  Co 19.60 

Dellahauntby  Bros.,  printing 46.20 

Carl  E.  Person,  railroad  fare 12.12 

Express    5.15 

Freight 50 

Telegrams    75 

Incidentals 2.80 


Total  $123.12 

TOTAL  EXPENSES 

William  A.  Newman,  office $  34.85 

H.  J.  Molloy,  office 59.55 

L.  M.  Hawver 67.12 

Strike  headquarters 123.12 

Strike   benefits 892.00 


Grand  total  expenses $676.64 

RECAPITULATION 

Total  cash  on  hand  from  month  of  September $   597.88 

Total  receipts  for  this  month 741.85 

Total    cash $1,339.73 

Total  expenses 676.64 

Cash  on  hand  November  1 $   663.09 

Yours, 

CARL  E.  PERSON, 
Assistant  Secretary. 

NOTE. — A  mistake  was  made  last  month.  We  credited  Lodge  No. 
695  with  $5  too  much.  Therefore,  our  total  cash  on  hand  from  September 
was  $597.88  instead  of  $602.88,  as  reported  in  our  last  month's  report. 


120  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

The  following  letter  from  Lafayette,  Ind.,  will  speak  for 
itself  and  substantiates  the  fact  that  Mr.  Preston's  circular 
of  November  17  was  injurious  to  the  men  on  strike  and  the 
movement  in  general : 

LAFAYETTE,  IND.,  November  25,  1912. 
MR.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  November  16, 
in  which  you  advise  that  one  thousand  raffle  tickets  were  sent  to  our 
recording  secretary  and  requested  that  I  do  what  I  could  to  get  the 
tickets  out,  permit  me  to  advise  that  our  recording  secretary  received  a 
communication  from  the  Grand  Lodge  (a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to 
all  lodges)  requesting  that  we  pay  no  attention  to  the  request  of  District 
No.  21.  I  had  several  of  the  machinists  and  the  good  members  to  boost 
the  thing  along,  but  when  the  letter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  was  read, 
everything  went  to  pieces.  Somebody  is  doing  a  lot  of  loud  knocking. 

Yours  fraternally, 

T.  J.  GREEN. 

We  were  now  facing  the  second  hard  winter  of  the  strike 
and  making  every  honest  effort  to  get  sufficient  money  on  the 
job  to  keep  a  few  men  on  the  picket  lines  for  the  winter,  and 
here  we  were  served  with  an  injunction  through  our  own  organ- 
ization whose  respectability  and  future  welfare  we  were  on 
strike  for. 

The  Advisory  Board  of  the  Machinist  District  sent  Sec- 
retary George  Preston  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
printed  in  the  Machinist  Journal  for  January,  1913,  page  40, 
and  reads  as  follows : 

Whereas,  The  membership  of  the  machinist  organization  through 
their  local  lodges  have  had  their  attention  called  to  certain  circulars 
issued  by  District  21;  and 

Whereas,  In  calling  attention  to  said  circulars  Bro.  George  Preston 
has  used  language  and  such  phrases  in  his  notice  to  local  lodges,  that 
he  has  caused  some  of  the  members  to  believe  that  misappropriation  of 
funds  has  taken  place  by  our  district;  and 

Whereas,  Some  lodges  have  been  notified  that  some  district  officers 
are  irresponsible,  such  phrases  as  are  SUPPOSEDLY  ACTING  and 
be  CAREFUL  WHAT  YOU  DO  being  used;  and 

Whereas,  The  statement  is  made  that  Brothers  Hawver,  President, 
and  Carl  E.  Person,  Assistant  Secretary,  signing  the  circulars  as  Dis- 
trict No.  21,  are  the  only  two  men  who  are  now  on  strike  at  Clinton, 
111.,  which  conveys  the  impression  that  they  are  the  only  ones  to  be 
benefited  by  their  circular,  and  especially  because  this  statement  is 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  FEDERATION       121 

followed  up  by  the  above  statement,  BE  CAREFUL  WHAT  YOU  DO; 
therefore,  be  it, 

Resolved,  That  Brother  Preston  be  censured  by  the  local  lodges 
to  whom  this  circular  was  sent  for  his  unfair  tactics,  as  he  admits  that 
he  is  not  officially  concerned;  also  admits  that  he  has  no  judicial  author- 
ity, yet  he  signs  the  circular  George  Preston,  G.  T.  S. ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  Brother  Preston  be  asked  to  make  an  apology  to 
District  No.  21  through  the  columns  of  the  Journal  or  resign  his  office, 
as  we  feel  that  he  is  not  fit  to  fill  such  a  position  as  he  has  been  entrusted 
with,  if  he  is  to  be  allowed  to  write  such  letters  to  our  membership  in 
the  future  as  freely  as  he  has  in  the  past. 

(Signed)         A.  E.  FRITZ. 

Endorsed  by  the  Advisory  Board  of  District  No.  21. 

W.  A.  NEWMAN,  Secretary. 

Mr.  George  Preston's  attitude  toward  the  men  who  were 
on  strike  is  easily  seen.  His  letter  to  the  Water  Valley  Lodge 
No.  61,  I.  A.  of  M.,  when  they  wanted  to  go  back  and  scab 
on  the  organizations  they  went  out  on  strike  for,  speaks  for 
itself.  He  spoke  more  loudly  when  he  refused  to  handle  the 
strike  funds  that  were  sent  to  him  for  the  men  on  strike. 


THE  COMING  BACK  OF  THE  FEDERATION 

On  November  15,  1912,  Mr.  McCreery,  President  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Federation,  who,  you  will  remember,  was  in 
Clinton  a  few  days  prior,  when  Business  Agent  Molloy  and 
President  Hawver  turned  the  District  No.  21  into  a  Federa- 
tion, writes  the  following  letter : 

PADUCAH,  KT.,  November  12,  1912. 
ME.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Now,  Brother  Person,  you  go  ahead  with 
the  Bulletin  and  the  other  work  as  agreed  on  and  as  soon  as  I  get  an 
answer  from  you  I  will  get  out  a  notice  to  the  rank  and  file  on  the  sys- 
tem for  you  to  run  in  the  Bulletin,  notifying  them  of  the  changes  and 
what  their  duty  will  be  in  the  future,  as  some  advise  to  the  secretaries 
of  the  local  boards  at  the  different  points  on  the  system.  I  want  to 
advise  them  also  that  where  they  haven't  got  a  working  secretary- 
treasurer  at  each  point,  to  get  busy  and  select  one  at  once  in  order 
that  we  can  do  our  business  with  each  point  through  their  official 
secretary-treasurer. 

Yours  fraternally, 

J.  F.  MCCREERY, 
President  of  I.  C.  Federation. 


122  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

All  of  the  Advisory  Members  approved  of  the  proposition 
as  submitted  to  them  by  Business  Agent  Molloy  and  President 
L.  M.  Hawver  of  the  Machinist  Districts,  through  President 
McCreery  of  the  Federation.  Therefore,  we  now  had  a  fed- 
eration movement  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  The  Fed- 
eration that  was  organized  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  in  May,  1911, 
had  now  come  to  life  again,  as  authorized  and  as  legal  as  the 
day  it  was  first  organized. 

Business  Agent  Molloy  of  the  district  was  informed  by 
wire  that  his  proposition  had  carried  and  Molloy  writes  the 
following  letter : 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  14,  1912. 

Dear  Person:  I  received  your  wire  this  a.  m.  I  am  glad  that  the 
proposition  carried.  Now  that  it  has,  I  will  do  what  I  can  with  the 
gang  here  and  will  go  to  Clinton.  The  chances  are  that  I  will  not  get 
to  Clinton  before  Monday.  I  have  a  few  things  here  that  must  be  looked 
after  before  going  away.  Then  it  will  take  a  little  time  to  get  this  gang 
lined  up. 

I  had  thought  that  Buck  would  be  in  Clinton  before  this  and  since 
he  had  not  yet  reported,  I  can't  imagine  what  he  has  in  mind  to  do. 

I  note  from  the  paper  this  morning  that  Parks  has  been  relieved 
of  the  duty  of  general  manager.  His  place  has  been  taken  by  Foley, 
who  was  Park's  assistant.  Parks  still  remains  with  the  road  as  vice- 
president  and  handles  the  transportation  department. 

If  Buck  comes  your  way  and  don't  intend  to  come  here,  let  me  know 
as  soon  as  you  can.  Try  and  persuade  him  to  come  here,  at  least  for 
a  little  while;  a  day  will  be  plenty. 

Hoping  to  see  you  soon,  I  am,  with  best  wishes  to  yourself  and 
Hawver, 

Yours  for  the  revolution, 

H.  J.  MOLLOY, 
Business  Agent  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

(Paragraph  4  of  Molloy's  letter  omitted.    Confidential  matter.) 

Machinist  Business  Agent  Molloy  was  glad  to  know  that 
his  proposition  as  submitted  to  President  McCreery  carried 
and  that  at  least  we  were  getting  down  to  a  federated  effort 
in  the  handling  of  the  strike.  Please  keep  Mr.  Molloy's  letter 
in  mind,  as  he  is  also  one  of  the  "stars"  in  this  play  and  we  are 
now  facing  the  storm  where  he  will  be  put  to  the  test. 

I  was  now  determined  to  make  the  best  possible  effort  to 
execute  the  new  plans  and  get  the  co-operation  of  the 


PETE  CONLON  MAD  WITH  POWER          123 

Grand  Lodge  officers,  whose  co-operation  the  men  on  strike 
were  entitled  to.  If  not  I  would  drive  them  out  in  the  open 
where  I  could  photograph  them  and  put  them  on  record,  where 
he  who  was  not  totally  blind  could  see  that  it  was  not  the  Illi- 
nois Central  and  the  Harriman  Lines  railroads  we  were  fight- 
ing, but  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  of  our  own  organizations. 


PETE  CONLON  MAD  WITH  POWER 

We  have  now  heard  from  Mr.  Conlon  of  the  Machinists, 
in  which  he  replies  to  my  letter  of  the  17th  and  indicates  that 
the  tail  has  now  wagged  the  dog  long  enough.  The  following 
telegram  was  received : 

POSTAL  TELEGRAPH  COMMERCIAL  CABLES 

TELEGEAM 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  19,  1912. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

CLINTON,  ILL. 

YOU  ARE  HEREBY  SUSPENDED  AS  ASSISTANT  SECRE- 
TARY, DISTRICT  TWENTY-ONE.  VICE-PRESIDENT  BUCKA- 
LEW  HAS  BEEN  INSTRUCTED  TAKE  CHARGE  YOUR  OFFICE. 
LETTER  FOLLOWS. 

P.  J.  CONLON, 

3:47  P.  M.  Vice-President  I.  A.  of  M. 

The  letter  that  Mr.  Conlon  speaks  about  in  his  telegram 
arrived  and  reads  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  19,  1912. 
ME.  C.  E.  PEESON, 

District  No.  21, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  the  17th  to  hand  and  by 
virtue  of  the  powers  invested  in  me  by  the  International  President, 
during  his  absence,  as  provided  for  in  Section  2,  Article  5,  page  16,  of 
the  constitution,  I  HEREBY  SUSPEND  YOU  FROM  THE  OFFICE 
OF  ASSISTANT  SECRETARY  of  District  No.  21  of  our  Association 
for  failing  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  this  office  sent  you  on  the 
4th  and  attempting  to  persuade  our  locals  to  violate  Section  16,  Article 
2,  subordinate  lodge  constitution,  page  40. 

YOUR  MEMBERSHIP  WILL  NOT  BE  INTERFERED  WITH, 


124  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

and  you  are  at  liberty  to  pursue  any  course  you  can  see  fit  to  set  aside 
this  decision,  but  because  of  your  past  attitude  and  the  language  of 
your  letter,  you  are  not  fit  to  serve  as  an  officer  of  our  Association. 
Therefore,  I  have  instructed  Vice-President  Buckalew  to  take  charge 
of  your  affairs  until  other  arrangements  can  be  made  for  your  successor. 

Fraternally  yours, 

P.  J.  CONLON, 
Acting  President. 

It  can  here  be  understood  that  it  was  a  violation  of  the 
Machinist  constitution  to  "attempt  to  persuade"  local  lodges 
to  send  money  direct  to  the  Machinist  District,  inasmuch  as 
such  money  to  comply  with  the  constitution  should  go  through 
the  Grand  Lodge.  However,  an  effort  had  been  made,  as  you 
can  fully  understand,  to  get  the  money  "through"  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  instead  of  going  "through,"  this  money  was 
switched  to  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury.  To  fight  this  condi- 
tion was  the  purpose  of  the  district,  and  the  intention  of  the 
war  cabinet  when  Jack  Buckalew  brought  it  to  Clinton. 

We  have  already  proven  our  case  that  it  was  an  impos- 
sibility to  get  the  money  "through"  the  Grand  Lodge,  and 
as  the  Grand  Lodge  violated  the  constitution  by  switching 
the  money  "to"  the  Grand  Lodge,  then  the  district  was  justified 
in  violating  the  constitution  in  asking  that  the  money  be  sent 
the  men  on  strike  "through"  their  district,  for  by  routing  the 
money  this  way  would  deprive  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  con- 
fiscation of  the  money.  And,  therefore,  Mr.  Pete  Conlon  was 
now  pulling  his  hair  and  had  to  discharge  someone,  just  as  an 
occasional  machine  side  foreman  has  to  discharge  someone  for 
reading  the  blueprints  wrong.  But  it  wasn't  the  constitution 
at  all ;  it  was  the  October  financial  statement  we  sent  Mr.  Con- 
Ion.  After  it  was  looked  over  they  realized  that  we  were  build- 
ing up  the  organization  that  they  had  ordered  the  tombstones 
for,  and  therefore  all  this  noise  in  Washington.  The  only 
reason  that  kept  Mr.  George  Preston  from  doing  it  was,  as 
he  said,  "He  did  not  have  the  judicial  authority,"  and  Mr. 
Conlon  had,  as  acting  president  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  while 
Mr.  Johnston  was  resting  up. 


PETE  CONLON  MAD  WITH  POWER          125 

Mr.  Conlon  objects  to  the  language  used  in  my  letter  of 
November  17,  1912.  However,  it  was  about  time  to  use  some 
plain  language  with  this  aggregation  in  Washington,  because 
the  strike  was  suffering  the  consequence  of  the  holdup  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  strikers'  money,  and  what  was  neces- 
sary to  keep  up  the  picket  lines,  so  he  was  told  in  very  plain 
language  what  my  attitude  was.  However,  the  records  will 
show  that  when  we  first  called  this  matter  to  their  attention 
we  begged  and  prayed  that  in  the  interest  of  the  strike  they 
should  play  the  game  fair.  After  this  procedure  had  failed  it 
was  time  to  get  up  off  our  knees  and  go  after  them  and  when 
this  portion  of  the  play  arrived,  Pete  Conlon  did  not  like  it. 
However,  he  had  it  coming  to  him,  and  we  tried  to  give  it  to 
him.  Of  course,  these  people  in  shoulder  straps  do  not  as  a 
rule  ever  run  across  anyone  that  dares  to  talk  to  them  in  plain 
words  and,  therefore,  this  letter  startled  Pete  Conlon. 

In  Mr.  Conlon's  letter  of  November  19,  1912,  he  gave  as 
one  of  his  reasons  for  my  suspension  the  violation  of  Section 
16,  Article  2,  page  40,  subordinate  lodge  constitution  for  1912, 
page  4*0,  which  reads  as  follows : 

All  moneys  sent  for  financial  aid  from  one  lodge  for  another  shall 
be  sent  to  the  Grand  Secretary-Treasurer,  who  will  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  same  in  the  following  monthly  financial  statement. 

I  was  fully  acquainted  with  the  constitution,  for  the  above 
quotation  was  given  full  consideration  at  the  time  Buckalew 
came  to  Clinton  and  organized  the  war  cabinet  of  the  district. 
Then  it  was  discovered  that  the  Grand  Lodge  was  violating 
the  constitution  by  failure  to  send  the  money  to  the  "other 
lodge  in  the  case,"  after  it  arrived  at  the  Grand  Lodge. 

There  was  one  time  during  the  strike  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
Presidents  federated  in  the  interest  of  the  men  on  strike.  They 
were  driven  to  this  during  the  month  of  March,  1912.  Let  us 
fully  observe  this  letter,  which  is  also  signed  by  President 
Johnston  of  the  Machinists,  and  see  if  Johnston  is  complying 
with  this  part  of  the  constitution  that  I  was  suspended  for 
violating.  It  reads  as  follows: 


126  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

JOINT  FEDERATION  OF  STRIKING  EMPLOYEES  OF  THE 
ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  AND  HARRIMAN  LINES 

Headquarters,  570-585  Monon  Building,  Chicago. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  March  11,  1912. 
To  ALL  ORGANIZED  WORKMEN,  Greeting: 

We,  the  undersigned  International  officers,  at  this  writing  have 
depleted  our  treasuries  and  appeal  to  you  for  financial  assistance  to  carry 
on  a  battle  for  human  rights  and  the  privilege  to  federate.  The  strike  on 
the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  have  lasted  five  months.  After 
three  months'  battle,  President  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  made  the 
statement  to  Governor  Brewer  of  Mississippi  (who  stated  to  the  under- 
signed and  others)  that  it  had  cost  the  Illinois  Central  $17,000,000  al- 
ready but  they  had  been  reimbursed  from  other  sources  $15,000,000; 
proving  the  charge  that  the  railroads  were  federated — a  privilege  they 
deny  their  employes.  Undoubtedly  it  cost  the  Harriman  Lines  more  than 
double  that  amount,  and  that  being  the  case  this  strike  is  costing  the 
railroad  companies  about  $7,000,000  per  month.  If  they  are  willing  to 
sink  that  amount  to  fight  the  federated  shop  crafts,  it  means  a  continua- 
tion of  the  fight  on  the  separate  unions  if  we  lost  this  strike. 

We  have  had  resolutions  from  different  localities  that  a  strike  be 
called  on  all  western  railroads.  A  meeting  of  the  general  officers  in 
Kansas  City,  Feb.  20th,  was  held  and  these  resolutions  were  considered, 
also  resolutions  that  were  presented  requesting  the  general  officers  to 
confine  the  strike  to  the  Harriman  Lines  and  Illinois  Central  only,  and 
exert  their  utmost  efforts  to  finance  those  who  are  now  on  the  firing  line. 
The  latter  course  was  deemed  advisable. 

It  has  been  expressed  by  some  that  a  strike  not  won  in  three  months 
is  lost.  Such  talk  is  nonsense.  The  undersigned  are  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  we  are  winning  the  strike.  The  motive  power  and  car  equip- 
ment is  being  kept  up  by  means  of  robbing  bad  order  cars  and  dead 
locomotives,  which  crowd  the  company's  sidetracks.  Thus,  with  the  few 
mechanics  they  have  among  the  scabs,  they  have  been  able  to  worry  along. 

We  believe  the  company  is  willing  to  continue  this  strike  longer  if 
by  so  doing  they  can  starve  our  men  into  submission.  If  we  convince 
them  that  they  cannot  starve  the  men,  a  settlement  will  follow. 

Thirty  thousand  men  walked  out,  less  than  five  hundred  of  all  crafts 
have  deserted;  a  splendid  record  of  loyal  unionists.  All  they  ask  is  dough- 
nuts and  coffee;  their  wives  and  children  must  have  more. 

We  used  every  honorable  means  to  avoid  the  strike.  The  managers 
selected  the  time,  chose  the  battlefield,  and  forced  the  issue.  It  was  either 
fight  or  submit  to  every  indignity  and  discrimination  they  wished  to  heap 
upon  us.  The  men  would  rather  go  down  fighting  an  honorable  battle 
than  submit;  therefore,  by  a  vote  of  97  per  cent  the  strike  was  called,  and 
one  of  the  most  gigantic  railroad  struggles  of  recent  years  was  on. 

Government  inspectors  have  condemned  many  locomotives  after 
various  explosions,  wrecks  and  breakdowns,  and  the  demands  of  the 
public  and  the  employees,  who  are  handling  the  motive  power. 

The  men,  especially  those  who  are  working  on  railroads  that  would 
have  been  involved  if  a  strike  was  called,  we  are  sure  will  give  at  least 
a  day's  pay  per  month,  and  we  hope  that  all  will  assess  themselves  a 


PETE  CONLON  MAD  WITH  POWER          127 

certain  amount  per  week  or  month,  and  everybody  that  receives  thin 
appeal  we  hope  will  make  a  donation  at  their  earliest  convenience. 

Many  things  we  might  say  in  our  defense,  but  this  will  conclude: 
The  strike  was  forced  upon  us,  and  we  are  on  the  defensive;  we  intend 
to  fight  the  battle  to  a  finish.  The  general  officers  of  the  crafts  appealed 
to  have  all  expressed  themselves  as  being  in  hearty  sympathy  with  us, 
and  some  have  opened  their  journals  and  made  mention  of  this  appeal 
and  are  encouraging  their  members  to  contribute. 

We  hope  the  time  will  soon  come  when  all  American  wage  workers 
will  consider  the  injury  of  one  the  concern  of  all.  The  employers  evi- 
dently have  learned  this  and  are  governing  themselves  accordingly. 

Please  send  all  remittances  to  WM.  F.  KRAMER,  570-585  Monon 
Bldg.,  No.  440  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111.,  who  will  promptly  receipt 
for  same  and  answer  all  questions. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  a  liberal  contribution,  and  with  best 
wishes,  we  remain,  Yours  very  fraternally, 

J.  W.  KLINE, 
General  President  I.  B.  of  B.  and  H.; 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN, 

International  President  I.  B.  of  B.  M.  and  I.  S.  B.  A.; 
Inter.  President  I.  A.  M.; 

W.  H.  JOHNSTON, 
M.  F.  RYAN, 
General  President  B.  R.  C.  of  A.; 

M.    O'SULLIVAN, 

General  President  A.  S.  M.  W.  I.  A.; 

J.  J.  CARRIGAN, 
International  President  Railway  Clerks; 

G.  F.  HEDRICK, 
International  President  Painters  and  Decorators ; 

J.  T.  KINSELLA, 
International  President  Steam  and  Hot  Water  Pipe  Fitters; 

JOHN    FITZPATRICK, 
Federal  Labor  Union. 

This  appeal  is  hereby  approved  by  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor. 

SAMUEL  GOMPERS,  President; 
JAMES  DUNCAN,  First  Vice  President; 
JOHN  MITCHELL,  Second  Vice  President; 
JAMES  O'CoNNELL,  Third  Vice  President; 
D.  A.  HAYES,  Fourth  Vice  President; 
W.  D.  HUBER,  Fifth  Vice  President; 
J.  F.  VALENTINE,  Sixth  Vice  President; 
J.  R.  ALPINE,  Seventh  Vice  President; 
H.  B.  PERHAM,  Eighth  Vice  President; 
J.  B.  LENNON,  Treasurer; 
FRANK  MORRISON,  Secretary. 


128  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We  find  that  President  Johnston  has  signed  and  endorsed 
a  letter  soliciting  funds  from  lodges  of  the  machinist  organiza- 
tion, and  directed  such  funds  to  be  sent  to  Wm.  F.  Kramer, 
570  Monon  Building,  Chicago,  111.,  who  at  that  time  repre- 
sented the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  as  their  Federation  Secre- 
tary. In  this  letter  we  find  that  President  Johnston  also 
attempted  to  persuade  locals  to  violate  section  16,  article  2, 
subordinate  constitution. 

The  Grand  Lodge  President  discovered  the  results  through 
federation  of  efforts,  such  as  the  above  federated  letter,  was 
effective  even  though  it  was  in  violation  of  their  respective  con- 
stitutions. This  letter  was  the  first  and  the  last  federated 
effort  set  forth  in  the  interest  of  the  men  on  strike.  When  I 
made  an  effort  to  apply  the  law  of  best  results  for  the  men 
on  strike  they  took  cover  back  of  the  very  articles  of  the  con- 
stitutions that  they  had  to  violate  themselves  in  order  to  pro- 
cure the  best  results.  Now  that  someone  "had  been  fixed" 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  strikers  were  to  be  trimmed,  I  had 
to  be  suspended  for  violating  that  portion  of  the  constitution 
that  Johnston  and  other  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  violated 
before  the  "proper  arrangements"  for  trimming  the  strikers 
had  been  made. 

The  following  injunction  was  served  on  every  lodge  in 
the  International  Association  of  Machinists : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Nov.  20,  1912. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  This  will  officially  notify  you  that  Carl  E. 
Person,  Assistant  Secretary  of  District  No.  21,  was  suspended  from  that 
office  by  the  Grand  Lodge  on  Nov.  19,  1912,  and  is  no  longer  a  district 
representative  of  our  organization. 

Fraternally  yours, 

P.  J.  CONLON, 
Vice  President  I.  A.  of  M. 

No  other  explanation  was  made  to  the  membership,  and 
the  first  thought  that  would  come  to  their  minds  after  hearing 
the  letter  was  that  I  had  got  away  with  the  strikers'  funds, 
and  the  very  impression  the  Grand  Lodge  wanted  to  leave  upon 
them,  when  the  fact  was  that  all  funds  solicited  through  the 


PETE  CONLON  MAD  WITH  POWER          129 

district  were  sent  to  W.  A.  Newman,  the  District  Secretary 
at  Mattoon,  111.  I  therefore  handled  no  funds;  my  business 
was  to  get  the  funds  moving  into  the  district  instead  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  The  Grand  Lodge  knew,  however,  that  they 
could  put  a  damper  on  what  we  had  accomplished  in  the  few 
months  that  we  had  been  at  work  by  informing  the  "Worthy 
Brothers"  of  my  suspension.  Being  suspended  from  any 
organization  makes  one  as  welcome  with  the  membership  as  a 
cat  in  a  canary  cage. 

We  had  now  put  some  life  into  the  district.  We  were 
paying  those  who  were  doing  actual  picket  duty  and  devoting 
all  their  time  to  the  strike  six  dollars  per  week,  and  we  had 
forced  Johnston  to  come  across  with  the  eight  dollars  coming 
to  them  as  Grand  Lodge  wages.  The  result  was  that  we  had 
quite  a  few  men  on  the  line  who  were  getting  fourteen  dollars 
per  week,  enough  to  ride  along  on  and  could  devote  all  their 
time  to  their  business  of  "keeping  the  scabs  moving"  and 
advertise  the  strike.  In  addition  we  had  got  our  advertising 
campaign  well  under  way ;  several  tons  of  postal  cards  and  red 
stickers  had  gone  all  over  the  country.  The  little  red  sticker 
of  "Keep  off  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines — Strike 
on"  could  be  seen  in  every  little  village  in  the  country,  and 
attracted  the  attention  of  anyone  that  frequented  a  hall  of 
justice  or  a  barroom  annex.  At  many  points  on  the  system  the 
machinists  had  left,  therefore  there  was  no  machinist  to  put 
to  work  on  the  picket  line,  but  if  it  was  a  terminal  point  it  was 
to  the  best  interest  of  the  strike  in  general  to  have  someone 
there,  if  it  was  only  one  man.  Where  we  could  not  get  a 
machinist  on  the  job,  we  put  on  a  striker  of  any  other  craft 
that  we  could  get,  who  would  give  the  movement  his  entire 
time  and  play  ball  for  the  cause  he  went  on  strike  for.  We 
knew  that  the  men  who  had  placed  the  money  with  the  district 
wanted  results  for  the  money,  and  did  not  care  whether  it  was 
a  machinist,  a  carman,  or  a  helper  that  could  give  them  the 
results,  and  therefore  we  did  not  draw  any  jurisdictional  lines 
to  procure  results. 


130  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

So  that  it  will  be  understood  that  the  injunction  to  the  mem- 
bership sent  out  by  Pete  Conlon  on  Nov.  20,  1912,  had  its 
desired  effect  insofar  as  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Machinists  was 
concerned,  I  quote  you  one  of  the  many  letters  received  which 

reads  as  follows: 

927  FRANKLIN  ST., 
WATERLOO,  IOWA,  Nov.  23,  1912. 
MR.  L.  M.  HAWVER, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Friend  and  Brother:  We  are  enclosing  a  letter  signed  P.  J. 
Conlon  of  Nov.  20,  1912,  just  received  from  Grand  Lodge  and  must 
state  that  it  just  knocked  the  pegs  out  from  under  us.  Of  course,  we 
know  why  they  are  trying  to  antagonize  you  there  at  Clinton,  but  I  am 
very  sorry  to  see  them  get  so  drastic,  as  it  is  going  to  be  the  very  worst 
thing  that  could  happen  right  at  this  time.  With  best  wishes, 
Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     FRANK  CONNOR, 

R.  S.  314,  I.  A.  of  M. 

JACK  BUCKALEW  CAUGHT  IN  THE  CRISIS 

I  had  now  arrived  at  the  place  I  wanted  to  get  at  to  find 
out  if  there  was  any  fight  in  the  War  Cabinet  and  Jack  Bucka- 
lew,  who  had  come  a  couple  of  months  before  with  the  district 
dead  in  his  little  satchel.  You  will  always  find  those  who  are 
strong  in  the  fight  until  a  cloud  comes  up,  and  it  takes  a  little 
steam  to  face  the  music,  and  that  is  the  most  pleasant  time, 
for  the  friends  that  will  stand  the  test  can  be  depended  on. 
In  this  case  what  was  the  duty  of  Jack  Buckalew?  Should  he 
stick  with  me  after  taking  his  district  and  putting  some  life 
into  it,  just  what  he  wanted  done  and  didn't  know  how? 

The  following  telegram  was  received  from  Jack  Buckalew : 

POSTAL  TELEGRAPH  CABLE  COMPANY 

Night  Lettergram. 

TOPEKA,  KAN.,  Nov.  23,  1912. 
C.  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Unavoidably  detained  in  Topeka.  Will  leave  tomorrow  or  next  day 
for  your  town  via  St.  Louis.  Do  not  take  charge  of  the  Federation 
proposition  until  I  get  there.  Anything  important  wire  me  here.  Hold 
mail.  J.  D.  BUCKALEW. 

8:30  A.  M. 


JACK  BUCKALEW  CAUGHT  IN  CRISIS       131 

The  above  telegram  speaks  for  itself.  Take  particular 
notice  of  the  words,  "DO  NOT  TAKE  CHARGE  OF  THE 
FEDERATION  PROPOSITION  UNTIL  I  GET  HERE." 

Buckalew  had  received  his  instructions  from  Washington 
and  Washington  had  been  informed  that  we  had  made  an 
effort  to  get  down  to  recognize  federation,  insofar  as  the 
handling  of  the  strike  was  concerned.  While  changing  the 
district  into  a  federation,  we  had  a  "spotter"  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  on  the  job,  who  always  went  along,  and  of  course  Mr. 
Conlon  and  Mr.  Johnston  had  been  informed  as  to  the  recent 
developments  and  therefore  it  was  not  my  letter  of  Nov.  17, 
1912,  that  had  shaken  up  Pete  Conlon's  dog.  It  was  the  fact 
that  we  were  getting  down  to  federated  basis  of  handling  the 
strike,  and  this  was  the  real  cause  of  my  suspension  as  District 
Secretary.  It  was,  of  course,  figured  out  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Machinists  that  if  they  would  suspend  me  at  this  time, 
this  action  would  keep  us  from  building  up  a  Federation,  and 
therefore  my  suspension,  and  Jack  Buckalew's  instructions  "TO 
HAVE  NOTHING  TO  DO  WITH  THE  FEDERATED 
PROPOSITION  UNTIL  HE  GETS  THERE."  It  is  very 
important  that  you  understand  this  part  of  it,  for  we  are  now 
in  the  middle  of  the  "storm"  where  I  am  testing  the  preachers 
of  the  "all  for  one,  and  the  one  for  all,"  and  it  must  be  under- 
stood back  of  my  suspension  was  the  fact  that  there  was 
a  danger  of  me  building  up  a  federated  movement  in  the 
handling  of  a  strike  that  they  had  sent  with  well  wishes  to  the 
graveyard  some  time  ago  in  the  early  part  of  1912. 

President  Hawver  of  the  district  sent  the  following  letter 
to  all  points  on  strike  concerning  my  suspension,  which  speaks 
for  itself : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Nov.  21,  1912. 
To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  All  Lodges  Composing  District  No.  21. 

Brothers,  as  you  already  know,  Brother  Person  thru  his  activity 
in  behalf  of  our  men  on  strike  has  been  suspended  as  District  Secretary. 

Brother  Person  will  furnish  you  with  a  complete  statement  of  how 
and  why  he  has  been  suspended.  He  still  retains  his  membership  in  the 
I.  A.  of  M.,  but  conditions  may  develop  wherein  the  Grand  Lodge  may 


132  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

expel  him  from  the  organization,  on  account  of  his  determination  to  con- 
tinue his  activity  for  the  men  who  are  on  strike  and  for  the  interest  of 
this  movement. 

Brother  Person  has  not  been  suspended  because  of  any  financial 
deficit;  his  accounts  are  all  right  and  he  has  handled  our  business  to  the 
best  of  satisfaction. 

Prior  to  this  suspension  of  Person  as  District  Secretary  he  was 
selected  as  Strike  Secretary  by  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation 
Executive  Board,  and  at  this  time  he  is  working  as  Strike  Secretary  for 
the  Federation. 

It  is  clearly  understood  by  all  officers  and  members  of  the  System 
Federation  Executive  Board  that  Person  is  authorized  to  solicit  funds  for 
the  Federation  and  as  soon  as  possible  and  when  the  money  is  forthcoming 
it  will  be  paid  to  those  who  are  doing  picket  duty  on  the  system. 

Brother  Buckalew  has  placed  me  in  charge  of  the  district  business 
and  I  will  endeavor  to  continue  the  district  payroll  as  long  as  we  can  in 
our  handicapped  condition  caused  by  the  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in 
threatening  to  suspend  anyone  who  will  try  and  raise  money  for  the  men 
on  strike. 

In  my  opinion,  after  associating  with  Brother  Person  for  nearly 
four  months,  and  in  that  time  learning  of  the  untiring  efforts  and  sin- 
cerity and  success  in  raising  money  for  the  men  on  strike,  advertise  the 
strike,  edit  the  bulletin,  I  believe  that  you  will  make  no  mistake  in 
co-operating  with  him  in  the  future  as  you  have  in  the  past  to  make  our 
strike  still  more  effective. 

Hoping  to  have  your  continued  co-operation  for  the  future,  and  that 
you  will  lend  every  assistance  to  Brother  Person  and  forward  him  your 
strike  news  as  you  have  in  the  past,  I  remain, 

Yours  in  battle, 

(Signed)     L.  M.  HAWVER,  JR., 
President  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 


Mr.  Jack  Buckalew  drove  in  from  Topeka,  Kan.,  where 
he  had  been  taking  a  "week  off,"  with  enough  telegrams  and 
papers  from  Washington  to  draw  up  specifications  for  a  battle- 
ship. He  did  not  only  have  Washington  orders  for  the  closing 
up  of  the  "rebels'  nest,"  but  charges  of  insubordination  against 
himself  if  he  failed  to  do  so.  Jack  Buckalew  was  now  in  a 
position  where  he  stood  between  his  own  job  or  must  turn  on  the 
one  that  took  his  district  as  a  corpse  and  worked  on  it  day  and 
night,  until  it  was  nursed  back  to  where  it  could  sit  up  and 
kick  around  a  bit  and  make  enough  noise  to  make  President 
Johnston  walk  the  floor  nights  and  make  Pete  Conlon  want  a 
chew  of  tobacco  as  he  sat  in  his  office  and  looked  down  over 
the  "capitol  dome"  at  Washington.  In  fact,  as  Pete  Conlon 


JACK  BUCKALEW  CAUGHT  IN  CRISIS       133 

stated  in  his  letter,  the  tail  was  wagging  the  dog  and  intruding 
upon  its  peaceful  slumbers. 

What  would  Buckalew  do?  What  should  he  have  done 
under  the  circumstances  ?  Here  was  the  time  to  find  out  Jack 
Buckalew,  the  man  of  many  battles ;  the  man  who  had  said 
when  he  first  came  in  with  his  district  in  a  little  satchel  that 
the  men  on  the  line  were  "trimmed"  and  he  was  willing  to 
declare  war  on  the  "trimmers."  But  Jack  was  like  the  rest 
of  the  "rail  birds" — was  strong  for  war  but  short  on  going  to 
war  himself.  Like  they  were  before  the  strike,  as  M.  F.  Ryan 
explained  it  at  the  Davenport  Convention  of  the  Machinists 
in  1911,  "We  must  go  on  strike  for  this  sacred  cause  if  we 
haven't  a  dollar  to  pay  as  strike  benefits"  But  you  will  notice 
M.  F.  Ryan,  Jack  Buckalew  and  the  rest  of  the  sky  pilots 
always  paid  themselves  their  salary  and  therefore  did  not  go 
to  war  at  all. 

They  simply  played  the  part  of  that  uniformed  model  that 
parades  in  front  of  the  recruiting  stations  and  when  they  are 
seen  performing  children  think  that  they  are  the  soldiers  that 
burned  up  the  smoke  at  "Valley  Forge." 

Jack  Buckalew  sat  there  nervous,  with  all  his  Washington 
documents,  and  stroked  his  thin  black  hair  with  a  shaky  hand. 
"What  do  you  think  of  it,  kid?"  said  he.  "We  beat  the  dips 
to  it,  Jack,"  I  said ;  "they  were  expecting  the  ship  to  go  under 
in  July  after  announcing  that  the  strike  vote  did  not  carry, 
and  now  we  shall  give  them  a  run  for  their  money ;  the  longer 
we  can  keep  the  ship  afloat  the  more  respected  the  federated 
movement  will  be  on  the  roads  where  they  have  federated  con- 
tracts, and  the  more  attention  Federated  Committees  will  re- 
ceive, when  they  go  to  the  managers'  doors  and  ask  for  recog- 
nition. We  must  keep  the  ship  afloat  and  fight  anyone  or 
everybody  to  accomplish  this  end." 

"Yes,  but  did  you  hear  from  Washington  lately?"  said 
Jack. 

"Yes,  I  did.  Johnston  had  to  take  the  rest  cure  after  the 
jolt  we  gave  him  in  St.  Louis  on  the  25  per  cent  proposition, 


134  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

and  he's  sicked  Pete  Conlon  on  me.  If  Pete  thinks  that  I  shall 
give  up  because  he's  got  a  headache,  he'll  be  so  busy  that  he 
won't  have  time  for  the  football  games  this  season,  and  besides, 
this  is  just  what  makes  the  game  worth  while,  Jack." 

"But  I  am  in  bad  with  the  office,"  said  Jack. 

"Yes,  and  I  am  outside  of  the  office,"  I  said,  as  I  pulled  out 
my  suspension  papers  from  the  files  and  handed  them  to  him. 
"This  is  the  last  noise  that  Pete  Conlon  pushed  in,  but  why 
worry  ?" 

"I  received  copies  of  everything  at  Topeka,"  said  Jack,  as 
he  handed  me  his  "Western  Union"  orders  to  take  charge  of  the 
office  and  all  property  therein. 

"That's  a  joke  on  Conlon,  isn't  it?"  was  my  reply.  "He 
didn't  know  that  you  have  been  in  charge  for  three  months. 
Washington  is  three  months  behind  the  time ;  no  wonder  Mark- 
ham  and  Kruttschnitt  can  put  it  over  the  boobs."  They  could 
build  a  new  line  from  Chicago  to  the  Coast  in  that  time." 

"Hello,  Jack;  what's  the  good  word?"  said  a  fellow  who 
came  in  the  side  door.  It  was  Hawver,  the  President  of  the 
district.  He  came  in  from  a  tour  of  the  road. 

"That's  a  live  wire  you  put  on  the  job  at  Cherokee,"  Haw- 
ver said,  as  he  turned  to  me,  "and  if  there  is  any  place  on  the 
system  where  we  need  a  live  one,  it  is  there,  for  the  hog  is 
running  drags  of  empties  from  all  points  on  the  western  lines 
in  there  to  touch  them  up  on  the  rip  track." 

"Who's  the  machinist  at  Cherokee  ?"  said  Jack. 

"Oh,  the  nutbusters  all  left  there  a  couple  of  weeks  after 
the  'parade' ;  he's  a  blacksmith  helper,  and  I  wish  we  had  ten 
men  like  him  at  every  point  on  the  system,  then  we'd  soon 
'move  the  yards.' " 

"Who's  buying  his  beans  ?"  Jack  inquired. 

"The  Kid  shoves  him  twelve  dollars  per  week  from  the  war 
chest,"  replied  Hawver. 

"I  won't  stand  for  paying  anyone  but  machinists  out  of 
machinists'  money,"  stated  Jack,  with  an  air  of  authority. 

"Why,  there  hasn't  been  a  machinist  there  for  over  a  year, 


JACK  BUCKALEW  CAUGHT  IN  CRISIS       135 

and  nobody  else  for  the  last  two  months ;  the  company  is  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  situation  and  pushing  the  cars  in  there 
from  Freeport  and  Waterloo ;  if  we  need  a  man  any  place  it  is 
just  these  deserted  places,  and  I'm  glad  that  we  could  at  least 
make  it  a  Federation,  so  that  this  cry  of  paying  a  machinist 
with  machinist  money,  or  a  boilermaker  with  boilermakers' 
money  could  be  locked  up." 

"Where  is  the  Federation?"  demanded  Jack,  as  he  started 
to  walk  up  and  down  the  office  floor. 

"We  had  McCreery  come  up  from  Paducah  and  persuaded 
him  to  get  on  the  job;  we  gave  him  the  district  organization, 
and  with  this  as  a  start  we'll  liven  things  up,  and  if  the  kid 
can  irritate  all  of  the  'dips'  like  Washington  was  spurred  into 
motion,  then  some  morning's  mail  will  bring  sad  news  to  our 
friends  at  the  'Park  Row  Station,' "  was  Hawver's  reply. 

"I'll  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  Federation.  I  won't  stand 
for  it  at  all,"  cried  Jack  in  a  melodramatic  exposition  that 
would  remind  you  of  him  in  action  during  the  good  old  torch- 
light nights  as  he  was  about  to  reach  a  striking  epoch  in  his 
platform  performance  of  the  "one  for  all  and  all  for  one." 
"There  isn't  anyone  on  the  line  but  machinists  anyway,"  he 
continued,  "besides  this  has  been  a  machinist  strike  for  some 
time  and  it  shall  continue  to  be  a  machinist  strike,  by  God! 
I've  got  to  close  her  up  or  be  pulled  out  of  service,  and  a  man 
with  my  reputation  can't  afford  to  be  pulled  out  of  service." 

Poor  old  Jack!  He  was  now  willing  to  throw  the  cause 
for  his  measly  job.  No  principle  was  big  enough  for  him  to 
place  his  job  in  jeopardy  and  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  fact 
that  he  had  to  make  good  on  the  Washington  orders  "or  be 
pulled  out,"  like  the  "handy  man"  who  lived  up  the  tracks  and 
took  his  place  with  the  boys  in  the  parade,  but  was  called  on 
by  the  foreman  in  the  morning  and  told  "You  better  come 
back  now  or  ye  kin  never  work  for  the  company  again."  He 
sputtered  and  cried :  "Oh,  what  shall  I  do  ?  Oh,  what  shall  I 
do?"  and  then  decided  to  do  it.  Such  was  Jack  Buckalew's 
position,  and  after  he  got  the  shakes  bad  enough  he  also  did  it. 


136  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

"Look  here,  Jack,"  I  said ;  "you  yellow  cur,  now  that  you 
have  shown  yourself  as  small  as  you  can  get,  now  that  we've 
learned  that  there  is  no  real  fight  in  you,  and  that  the  rehearsal 
you've  made  before  the  spotlights  has  been  but  a  barnyard 
recital.  You  came  here  a  few  months  ago  with  your  organi- 
zation a  wreck,  dressed  up  an  attitude  that  was  both  false  and 
misleading.  You  may  be  a  Grand  Lodge  officer  with  titles 
and  reputations  that  are  admired  and  welcome  where  folks 
don't  know  you  as  we  do,  and  have  had  no  opportunity  to  take 
your  blue  prints  as  we  have  taken  them.  The  rebel  nest  was 
here  before  you  made  the  circuit,  Jack,  and  it  shall  stay  here 
until  the  'dips'  are  successful  in  pulling  down  the  curtain  on  this 
western  drama.  There  is  nothing  in  the  rebel  nest  that  belongs 
to  either  you,  Johnston  or  Pete  Conlon,  and  if  there  is  any- 
thing that  you  will  ever  take  it  will  be  after  the  'smokeless'  has 
been  pushed  out  from  the  Winchesters.  Now  you  are  welcome 
to  go,  but  remember  this,  that  it  was  a  strike  for  federation,  and 
if  you  intend  to  go  out  and  interfere  with  our  activities  in  the 
the  interest  of  federation,  you'll  lose  more  sleepless  nights 
than  Johnston  has  lost."  And  so  Jack  Buckalew  left,  fully 
realizing  that  he  had  closed  nothing  up;  that  the  little  war 
would  go  on  as  far  as  the  rebel  nest  was  concerned. 

Hawver  had  slipped  off  his  coat,  and  stood  there  in  the 
corner  with  his  eyes  popping  out  like  a  boy  who  was  first  taken 
to  see  his  new  baby  brother,  and  said :  "That's  a  good  one,  kid. 
That's  what  these  dips  need  to  move  them.  The  sooner  they 
are  made  to  realize  that  this  is  a  strike  instead  of  a  playhouse, 
the  better  for  all  of  us." 

While  Jack  left,  he  left  to  return  in  the  future.  His  first 
stop  was  at  Chicago,  where  he  dropped  in  to  see  J.  W.  Kline, 
President  of  the  Blacksmiths,  and  told  him  what  a  nasty  job 
Pete  Conlon  gave  him,  and  how  he  hated  to  do  it,  but  he  just 
had  to,  and  that  it  was  his  place  to  stick  with  the  boys  who  had 
served  him  when  he  could  not  serve  himself,  but  Washington 
orders  were  superior  to  everything ;  he  had  taken  an  oath  to  be 
subservient  to  the  constitution.  He  then  drove  into  Wash- 


JACK  BUCKALEW  CAUGHT  IN  CRISIS       137 

ington  to  call  on  Pete  and  the  office  of  President  Johnston, 
who  had  recuperated  sufficiently  to  come  in  and  take  charge. 
Here  he  informed  his  superior  that  the  rebel  nest  still  stood  on 
the  prairie  and  that  now  he  could  not  close  it  up  as  the  district 
officers  had  made  a  Federation  out  of  it.  Then  he  was  cross- 
questioned  on  how  the  district  came  to  life  and  was  able  to 
make  enough  noise  to  wag  the  dog  in  Washington.  Jack  was 
then  issued  new  orders  that  if  he  could  not  break  up  the  Fed- 
eration and  that  movement  that  had  developed  from  the  dis- 
trict he  would  have  to  send  in  his  resignation. 

Mr.  Buckalew  realized  what  he  was  up  against,  but  he 
had  to  make  good  or  lose  his  job,  and  the  office  in  Washington 
was  more  than  anxious  to  see  him  make  good  and  therefore 
developed  mutual  co-operation  and  a  federated  effort  between 
Mr.  Johnston  and  Buckalew. 

Inasmuch  as  we  were  now  in  the  storm  of  organized  opposi- 
tion, it  will  be  well  to  remember  that  Jack  Buckalew  went  to 
Washington  to  confer  with  those  whom  he  regarded  as  wreck- 
ing the  strike  in  June,  1912,  and  his  date  in  Washington  was 
Nov.  26,  1912.  Several  propositions  were  now  developing  in 
Washington,  in  which  Mr.  Johnston,  Pete  Conlon  and  their 
new  recruit  Mr.  Jack  Buckalew  were  interested.  One  of  them 
was  how  to  wreck  the  Strike  Bulletin  that  had  been  started  at 
this  time.  As  this  was  regarded  as  the  most  dangerous  weapon 
we  had  been  aBle  to  establish  while  the  brains  of  the  labor  move- 
ment were  asleep  on  the  job,  you  will  see  where  they  jumped  on 
the  little  newspaper  in  the  near  future.  Remember  that  the 
plot  was  hatched  in  Washington  at  this  time. 

President  Hawver  of  the  district  was  under  the  impression 
that  Mr.  Conlon  had  made  the  suspension  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  President  Johnston,  and  therefore  wired  him  as  follows : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Nov.  28,  1912. 
MR.  WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

402  McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

For  the  future  welfare  of  your  organization  come  to  Clinton  and 
make  terms.  I  desire  no  reoccurrence  of  trouble  like  in  District  15. 

L.  M.  HAWVEH,  JE. 


138  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

To  which  President  Johnston  of  the  Machinists  replied  as 

follows : 

THE  WESTERN  UNION  TELEGRAPH  CO. 
Day  Letter. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Nov.  30,  1912. 
L.  M.  HAWVER,  JR., 

Box  32,  Clinton,  111. 

Person's  actions  necessitated  his  suspension.  Books  and  papers 
must  be  turned  over  by  him.  If  he  desires  to  appeal  he  should  comply 
with  our  instructions  and  his  case  will  be  laid  before  the  General  Execu- 
tive Board.  We  cannot  stand  for  any  further  temporizing  with  him. 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON— 11:00  P.  M. 

President  Johnston's  wire  will  indicate  that  Vice  President 
Pete  Conlon  was  acting  under  the  instructions  of  President 
Johnston  and  with  his  full  knowledge  thereof.  Johnston  re- 
fused to  meet  the  District  Board.  There  were  no  two  sides  to 
the  issue  as  far  as  Mr.  Johnston  was  concerned,  so  he  took  the 
same  attitude  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  took 
with  the  Federation  and  would  grant  no  conference  whatever. 
He  would  not  even  recognize  the  grievance  of  the  association's 
own  district.  Why,  then,  should  railroads  and  others  recog- 
nize Mr.  Johnston  or  the  association  when  they  make  applica- 
tion for  a  meeting  to  discuss  grievances  at  issue  ?  Such  tactics 
as  this  were  the  cause  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strike. 

The  following  letter  was  again  sent  President  Johnston, 

asking  for  a  conference: 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Dec.  3,  1912. 
MR.  WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

402  McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir:  Please  set  date  when  you  can  meet  with  our  district  board 
in  Mattoon,  111.  We  should  have  harmony  at  any  cost.  There  is  much 
dissatisfaction  expressed  in  district  at  your  action  of  notifying  lodges 
of  Person's  suspension. 

We  believe  it  very  important  that  you  meet  with  us  soon.  Wire 
answer.  (Signed)  L.  M.  HAWVER,  JR. 

No  answer  was  received  from  the  above  letter.  The  tele- 
gram and  letter  is  put  in  the  records  to  show  that  it  was  an 
impossibility  for  the  district  to  even  get  a  conference  with 
Mr.  Johnston. 


McCREERY  TURNS  TRAITOR  139 

MCCREERY  TURNS  A  TRAITOR  FOR  THE  PROMISE  OF 

A  JOB 

I  had  at  this  time  made  arrangements  to  open  up  a  lecture 
tour  and  use  such  men  as  could  handle  themselves  on  the  plat- 
form as  a  means  of  raising  funds  to  maintain  the  picket  lines. 
Mr.  W.  E.  Bowen,  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Federation,  and  also  an  Advisory  Board  member  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Federation,  who  had  endorsed  the  proposition  as  sub- 
mitted him  by  President  McCreery,  including  my  election  as 
Secretary  for  the  Federation,  was  engaged  to  go  out  on  the 
road,  as  the  following  letter  will  substantiate  from  President 
McCreery : 

PADTJCAH,  KY.,  Nov.  23,  1912. 
Ma.  CARL  E.  PERSON", 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Bro.  Bowen, 
and  he  is  willing  to  start  on  the  road  as  soon  as  he  is  ordered  to  do  so, 
and  says  that  he  prefers  a  southern  territory,  so  you  can  fix  him  up  and 
start  him  out  at  your  pleasure. 

Fraternally  yours, 

F.  J.  MCCREERY, 

President. 


Mr.  W.  E.  Bowen  writes  the  following  letter  which  speaks 
for  itself : 

NEW  ORLEANS,  LA.,  Nov.  27,  1912. 
MR.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  the  23rd  inst.  at  hand  and 
contents  carefully  noted,  and  I  must  say  that  I  was  somewhat  surprised 
at  the  action  of  the  Machinists'  organization,  because  McCreery  had 
informed  me  that  the  Machinists,  i.  e.,  District  21,  was  to  turn  over  their 
money  to  you  and  I  had  based  my  future  cause  to  work  for  the  benefit 
of  THE  FEDERATION.  I  was  also  under  the  impression  that  every- 
thing was  ready  to  start  out  on  the  Bulletin  proposition  and  had  made 
arrangements  to  take  the  matter  up  with  the  Clerks  and  have  circular 
letters  sent  out  by  the  Grand  Lodge  to  all  members  asking  each  lodge 
to  contribute  lOc  for  each  member  as  a  subscription  for  the  Bulletin. 
This  would  have  raised  hundreds  of  dollars  and  if  the  same  plan  would 


140  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

be  adopted  by  all  the  organizations  in  the  Federation,  we  could  easily 
have  raised  hundreds  of  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  the  strikers,  but  now  I 
find  that  the  Machinists  say  they  are  only  looking  out  for  their  own  mem- 
bers. This  is  very  good  from  one  point  of  view,  but  if  we  are  in  a 
federation  for  the  purpose  of  fighting  together  for  a  common  purpose, 
can  it  be  expected  that  ALL  of  the  crafts  will  consider  it  a  fair  proposi- 
tion that  any  one  organization  shall  HOG  all  of  THEIR  revenue  for 
themselves?  If  the  great  majority  of  the  money  was  coming  in  from 
the  other  organizations  would  not  the  Machinists  want  all  moneys  pro- 
rated? 

Well,  there  is  not  much  use  to  discuss  that  phase  of  the  situation  at 
this  stage  of  the  game,  but  do  you  not  think  that  if  this  lOc  assessment 
was  requested  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  all  working  members  of  all  organi- 
zations that  it  would  have  been  much  better  than  to  depend  upon  volun- 
tary contributions,  which  does  not  bring  in  very  much,  comparatively 
speaking,  and  while  you  say  that  the  Federation  instructed  you  to  go 
ahead  with  the  work,  why  that  sounds  all  right.  They  would  instruct 
anyone  to  "go  ahead"  when  there  was  a  chance  for  any  money  to  be  made, 
but  when  I  find  just  ONE  MAN  who  is  willing  to  help  the  cause  along 
by  putting  up  HIS  money  to  try  and  do  something  for  the  benefit  of 
ALL,  then  I  feel  that  I  would  not  be  doing  that  man  JUSTICE  were  I  to 
use  HIS  money  and  perhaps  fail  in  my  efforts  to  try  and  do  something 
for  these  men  who  are  still  fighting,  and  I  mean  by  that,  the  men  who 
are  still  out  and  not  working;  any  of  the  strikers  who  have  secured  em- 
ployment can  very  easily  say  to  those  on  the  firing  lines,  "Sic  'em,  Tige; 
go  at  'em,"  but  how  many  of  them  are  doing  their  share  to  give  "TIGE" 
encouragement  ? 

When  I  see  such  actions  as  taken  by  the  machinists,  I  naturally  rebel 
and  really  dislike  to  go  out  under  such  conditions,  but  if  you  are  willing 
to  take  the  chance,  then  say  the  word  and  out  I  go,  of  course.  I  have 
already  said  that,  but  I  wanted  you  to  know  my  feelings  in  the  matter 
before  I  would  make  up  my  mind  to  go;  and  again,  you  say  that  they 
have  suspended  you.  This  being  the  case,  do  you  not  think  they  will 
publish  you  and  this  would  act  against  the  plan  with  the  Machinists? 
Of  course,  it  would  not  matter  with  other  organizations,  but  I  would 
like  very  much  to  go  "up  against"  any  Machinists'  Lodge  and  have  them 
to  throw  that  up  to  me,  so  will  have  to  steer  clear  of  them,  unless  you 
say  go  to  them,  and  Willie  will  go. 

Now,  just  as  soon  as  you  get  the  Bulletin  proposition  through  the 
postoffice,  let  me  know  and  I  will  take  the  matter  up  with  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Clerks  and  put  the  proposition  through  to  have  a  lOc  assess- 
ment made  by  every  lodge  on  every  member,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  I 
will  try  it,  and  I  have  no  fear  of  the  result.  Any  man  who  would  not 
put  up  that  amount  every  month  for  to  assist  us  in  this  fight  should 
turn  in  his  card,  declaring  he  is  not  fit  to  be  a  union  man,  and  as  I  have 
said  before,  every  Grand  Lodge  should  do  the  same  thing,  and  while  you 
are  working  on  the  Bulletin  make  the  subscription  lOc  per  month  and 
try  to  interest  all  the  members  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Federation 
and  have  them  to  take  up  the  matter  with  the  respective  organizations. 
Write  Buckalew  and  other  V.  P.'s  of  other  organizations  and  explain 
the  proposition,  and  if  they  all  fall  in  line,  it  will  be  thousands  of  dollars 
every  month  for  us  and  then  the  question  of  financing  the  strike  will  be 
settled. 


McCREERY  TURNS  TRAITOR  141 

I  tell  you,  Brother  Person,  when  I  can  see  how  easy  the  thing  could 
be  done  and  then  learn  of  the  apathy  of  the  powers  that  be  and  the 
indifference  of  the  union  men  whose  very  existence  depends  upon  the 
successful  outcome  of  this  fight,  men  who  are  now  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  organized  labor,  men  who  are  so  blind  that  they  cannot  or  do  not  want 
to  see  that  the  loss  of  this  fight  will  eventually  mean  the  destruction  of  all 
of  the  organizations  involved,  it  makes  my  blood  boil  when  I  see  the  future 
result  of  this  apathy,  and  when  I  see  such  actions  as  MEN  like  you  I 
say,  "Would  to  God  that  we  had  a  few  more  like  you."  Some  day  I  will 
tell  you  more,  but  now  the  question  is,  shall  I  go  after  I  have  expressed 
myself  as  I  have?  If  I  go,  my  first  stop  will  be  Gulf  port,  Miss.,  then 
Mobile,  Ala.  Will  advise  you  from  the  latter  point  as  to  my  next  point. 

Awaiting  your  answer  and  with  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     W.  E.  BOWEN. 

It  is  easy  to  make  deductions  now.  Mr.  Bowen  states  that 
he  had  been  informed  of  the  difficulty  in  the  Machinist  District 
and  that  my  suspension  was  a  reaction  to  the  progress  of  the 
Federation.  He  explains  that  in  making  the  different  lodges, 
the  question  of  my  suspension  would  come  up  and  the 
"worthy"  brothers  would  refuse  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
a  movement  because  a  suspended  member  from  their  "church" 
was  connected  with  it.  In  this,  Mr.  Bowen  was  right;  it  was 
a  difficult  question  to  meet,  but  it  had  to  be  met  or  let  the  ship 
go  down  at  that  particular  time.  And  of  course  my  suspension 
was  made  for  this  purpose :  for  the  purpose  of  reacting  upon 
the  men  on  strike  and  conveying  to  the  membership  that 
something  was  wrong,  and  uppermost  of  all  to  kill  the 
Federation. 

All  available  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  President 
McCreery  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation.  The  wires  were 
burning  up  between  Washington  and  Paducah,  and  from 
Kansas  City,  the  general  office  of  the  Carmen,  and  Paducah. 
You  will  remember  what  McCreery  said  when  he  was  in  Clinton 
and  the  proposition  that  he  later  submitted  to  his  District  was 
made  that  he  stood  ready  to  fight,  if  necessary,  any  Grand 
Lodge  office  that  would  interfere  with  the  federated  movement, 
and  as  we  will  now  put  him  on  the  stand,  note  the  tone  of  his 
letter  carefully,  which  reads  as  follows : 


142  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

FEDERATION  OF  RAILWAY  EMPLOYEES 

PADUCAH,  KY.,  Nov.  27,  1912. 
MB.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Friend:  I  received  your  two  letters,  also  the  check  for  $50  and 
other  matters,  but  have  been  waiting  to  see  Buckalew  before  answering, 
as  Bro.  Fritz  had  a  letter  from  him  saying  he  would  be  here  the  first  of 
the  week,  but  so  far  he  has  not  put  in  an  appearance. 

Brother,  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  your  suspension  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  think  that  District  21  should  stand  behind  you  in  this  matter,  and 
hope  everything  will  be  straightened  out  satisfactory. 

Now,  about  us  starting  out  on  our  own  hook  with  you  as  Strike 
Secretary  without  the  support  of  the  Machinists  would  cause  friction 
in  our  ranks  and  prevent  us  from  getting  the  support  we  should  have, 
so  you  had  better  wait  and  see  if  this  matter  can't  be  straightened  out 
some  way. 

I  have  written  Molloy  and  asked  what  was  the  disposition  of  the 
district  in  the  matter.  No  doubt  the  Grand  Lodge  has  notified  the  differ- 
ent lodges  of  your  suspension  and  notified  them  not  to  do  business  with 
District  21  thru  you,  and  this  would  prevent  us  from  getting  the  support 
we  are  bound  to  have.  You  know  there  are  always  some  who  are  only 
looking  for  an  excuse  for  not  donating  to  our  cause. 

I  am  returning  to  you  the  check  and  appreciate  your  spirit  and 
loyalty  to  the  cause,  but,  Brother  Person,  we  have  got  to  be  very  careful 
of  the  foundation  that  we  build  on  for  fear  that  it  will  crumble  from 
under  our  building  after  we  have  started  the  building.  Let  me  know 
whether  you  are  suspended  from  the  I.  A.  of  M.  or  just  suspended  from 
the  Assistant  Secretary  job.  I  expected  to  get  all  of  this  information 
from  Buckalew,  but  he  has  not  come  and  this  is  the  cause  of  my  delay 
in  answering  your  letters.  So  hoping  to  hear  from  you  on  this  matter, 
I  am,  as  ever,  Yours  truly, 

J.  F.  McCREERY, 
President  I.  C.  Federation. 


Now,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?  This  was  the  gentleman 
who,  back  in  July,  asked  me  to  get  after  Ryan,  the  President 
of  the  Carmen,  because  the  movement  was  dying  in  Paducah. 
The  gentleman  that  laid  in  Clinton  for  three  days  begging  me 
to  do  what  he  admitted  he  could  not  do  himself.  This  was  the 
gentleman  that  submitted  the  Federation  proposition  to  his 
Executive  Board  and  they  approved  of  it  and  depended  on 
him  as  President  to  see  that  it  was  carried  out.  And  now, 
that  the  Machinists  had  engineered  a  proposition  to  kill  fed- 
eration, he  ran  as  a  baby  might  run  from  a  wild  bull. 


McCREERY  TURNS  TRAITOR  143 

The  Federation,  of  course,  had  no  money,  as  Buckalew 
took  what  was  left  of  the  District  funds  when  he  was  sent  to 
close  up  the  District,  but,  as  McCreery  admits  in  his  own  let- 
ter, that  he  was  returning  the  check  for  $50.  This  will  sub- 
stantiate that  money  was  sent  him,  and  he  was  at  that  time 
to  speak  in  Louisville  and  other  cities  in  Kentucky.  What 
had  happened  in  the  meantime  ?  Several  Grand  Lodge  officers 
had  been  to  see  him,  Buckalew  had  written  him  and,  as  he 
states  in  his  letter,  was  expected  in  Paducah  any  time.  These 
were  the  kind  of  men  that  had  let  the  Federation  die  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  run  away  with  it.  This  was  the  man 
who  was  President  of  the  Federation  before  the  strike  and 
who  issued  strike  orders  because  the  Illinois  Central  would 
not  recognize  the  Federation,  and  here  he  was  afraid  to  recog- 
nize it  himself,  because  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  did  not  like 
it.  This  is  the  man  who,  in  May  of  1911,  was  elected  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Federation  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  who  asserted 
while  in  Clinton  that  when  the  storm  came  up  he  would  be  there 
with  his  sturdy  arm  of  protection,  and  now  he  did  not  have  sand 
enough  to  face  a  small  organized  opposition  like  this.  How 
could  he  be  expected  to  put  up  a  fight  against  a  railroad  com- 
pany with  brains  and  money? 

He  became  willing  to  let  the  Federation  die,  because  Buck- 
alew, to  preserve  his  job,  had  orders  to  tear  it  down.  What 
was  the  cause?  What  was  the  price  paid,  we  ask  McCreery? 
What  inducements  were  you  offered  to  tear  the  Federation 
down?  Was  it  to  be  made  a  vice  president  of  the  Carmen's 
International  Union  at  the  Milwaukee  convention  in  1913? 
Did  he  surrender  all  the  principles  of  federation  to  Jack  Buck- 
alew, the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Machinists,  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Carmen,  for  a  measly  seat  on  the  staff  of  the  Sky  Pilots  ? 
We  shall  inform  you  in  regard  to  this  a  little  later  as  we 
arrive  at  the  narration  of  another  scene  of  the  circus.  Let  us 
see  what  this  gentleman  said  in  his  proposition  as  submitted 
to  his  Executive  Board.  His  last  paragraph  of  the  proposi- 
tion reads : 


144  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Brothers,  it  Is  very  plain  that  we  cannot  exist  as  a  Federation, 
along  the  lines  that  have  been  followed  out  as  per  the  constitution,  and, 
therefore,  we  must  devise  such  means  and  ways  that  is  to  the  best 
interest  of  this  movement  at  this  time,  and  with  this  end  in  view  I  am 
submitting  to  you  this  proposition  as  outlined  in  this  letter. 

If  such  was  the  fact  at  that  time,  why  did  Mr.  M cCreery 
take  water  at  this  time?  If  he  had  a  perfect  right  to  do  so, 
then  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  had  a  perfect 
right  to  turn  the  Federation  down  in  1911.  The  principle  is 
the  same,  regardless  whether  it  is  outside  or  inside  of  the  labor 
movement,  is  it  not?  If  one  man  or  one  organization  is  justi- 
fied to  do  one  or  many  things,  then  should  not  anyone  else  be 
justified  to  do  the  same?  If  Mr.  McCreery  turned  down  the 
movement  and  the  men  he  was  supposed  to  represent  at  this 
time  for  the  job  of  Vice  President  for  the  Carmen,  is  he  not 
likely  to  let  the  members  of  that  organization  down  at  any 
time,  if  the  proper  inducements  are  made  to  him,  judging  from 
his  weakness  before  ?  Any  man  who-  would  surrender  the  prin- 
ciples and  rights  of  the  12,000  men  out  on  strike  on  the  Illi- 
nois Central,  you  are  justified  in  believing  that  there  is  noth- 
ing too  low  for  him  to  execute  in  the  future. 

Inasmuch  as  Mr.  McCreery  stated  in  his  letter  that  he  was 
writing  Business  Agent  Molloy  of  the  Machinists;  therefore, 
let  us  put  Molloy  on  the  stand: 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 
DISTRICT  LODGE  NO.  21 

Dec.  1,  1912. 

Dear  Person:  I  am  enclosing  you  a  letter  which  I  received  from 
McCreery.  You  can  see  by  same  the  ideas  that  he  had  in  regard  to  the 
matter.  I  guess  he  and  Buck  talked  this  over  since  he  wrote  me.  I 
guess  Buck  told  him  how  the  Liberator  was  to  take  the  place  of  the 
Bulletins,  etc.  We  will  not  wait  for  that. 

I  was  talking  to  Sam  Osten  of  the  Blacksmiths  here  and  he  was 
sore  because  he  thought  that  we  had  all  turned  you  down.  He  told  me 
today  that  from  Buck's  talk  last  Sunday  at  the  mass  meeting  that  all 
the  machinists  turned  you  down  and  that  you  had  been  a  terrible  violator 
of  the  constitution.  Osten  also  said,  "I  remember  some  of  the  things 
that  Buck  told  us  to  do  were  not  in  line  with  the  constitution."  You  can 
count  on  Osten  as  with  you  and  I  find  some  others  here  also.  Osten  told 
me,  too,  that  he  had  told  Jensen  that  he  thought  we  were  all  a  lot  of 
quitters,  if  we  did  not  stick  with  you. 


McCREERY  TURNS  TRAITOR  145 

When  I  write  McCreery  I  am  going  to  tell  him  that  it  is  no  more 
essential  that  we  machinists  stick  to  our  part  of  the  proposition  than  for 
all  other  crafts  to  stick  to  their  part.  I  think  McCreery  got  his  instruc- 
tions all  right,  and  I  think  that  was  the  reason  why  Buck's  letter  was 
sent  there  from  Conlon;  so  they  could  compare  things.  Well,  we  got 
them  on  the  go  now.  They  will  have  to  make  some  move  to  get  out  a 
Bulletin  and  to  promote  Federation  or  we  will  be  after  them  some  more. 

I  have  not  heard  from  Johnston  yet  on  the  letter  which  I  sent  him 
at  Rochester.  Neither  have  I  heard  from  the  one  which  I  sent  Pete 
Conlon  from  Clinton.  I  can't  imagine  why  I  have  been  ignored  in  both 
cases.  Maybe  they  have  had  all  the  stenographers  sending  out  circulars 
telling  of  your  suspension.  I  find  that  none  have  been  missed. 

Please  return  the  enclosed  letter,  as  I  want  to  frame  it. 

Yours  for  the  cause, 

H.  J.  MOLLOY, 
Business  Agent,  District  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 


From  Business  Agent  Molloy's  letter  we  can  understand 
that  Buckalew  had  already  been  in  Paducah  to  see  McCreery 
and  that  Conlon  had  been  in  touch  with  McCreery.  We  further 
find  that  Jack  Buckalew  had  attended  the  mass  meeting  of 
strikers  in  Chicago.  We  further  find  that  they  had  started 
out  to  put  the  strike  bulletin  out  of  business,  and  the  Liberator 
was  to  be  endorsed,  as  we  shall  note  later  on.  We  also  note  that 
the  strikers  in  Chicago  realize  that  Jack  Buckalew  was  on  a 
mission  of  destruction,  do  we  not?  Molloy  further  stated 
that  in  his  opinion  McCreery  had  received  his  instructions,  did 
he  not?  As  yet  you  can  understand  that  Business  Agent 
Molloy  is  standing  firm  and  that  he  realized  that  there  was  an 
organized  effort  to  tear  down  the  federation. 

In  the  meantime  Jack  Buckalew  was  a  busy  man ;  when  he 
left  Chicago  he  went  back  to  Paducah  again,  and  there  he 
found  that  in  face  of  all  organized  opposition,  and  deserted 
by  the  spineless  element,  I  was  going  ahead  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  While  in  Paducah  a  letter  was  written  to  W.  E. 
Bowen  and  he  was  given  instructions  to  lay  down  on  the  job, 
and  these  instructions  were  complied  with,  and  the  dates  made 
for  him  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi  were  not  filled,  as  he  was 
afraid  to  go  out  after  being  told  not  to  go. 


146  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE 

The  next  thing  Jack  Buckalew  undertook  to  do  was  to 
bring  the  Advisory  Board  of  District  No.  21  to  Clinton  and 
have  them  to  sit  as  a  jury  on  my  suspension.  In  the  meantime 
he  wrote  them  all  and  laid  his  side  of  the  case  before  them, 
and  when  they  heard  of  it,  they,  of  course,  made  up  their  mind 
that  the  Pinkerton  Detective  Agency  had  run  away  with  their 
District,  for  so  it  appeared  after  hearing  Jack  Buckalew's  side 
of  the  case.  The  meeting  of  the  District  Board  took  place  at 
Clinton  on  December  7,  1912. 

Buckalew  arranged  for  suitable  quarters  at  the  "Village 
Inn"  and  at  ten  o'clock  promptly  called  the  court  to  order. 
Hawver,  President  of  the  District,  was  seated  as  the  judge  of 
the  court,  while  Jack  assumed  the  office  of  state's  attorney  and 
prosecutor.  James  J.  Meagher  was  the  defendant's  chief  coun- 
sel. Jack  Buckalew  told  his  tale  of  woe,  and  they  were  pretty 
well  impressed  with  the  fact  that  I  tore  down  constitutional 
fences  to  question  the  authorities,  his  highness  at  Washington, 
as  well  as  his  assistant,  Jack  Buckalew. 

Among  the  59  indictments  that  Buckalew  had  preferred 
was  that  of  refusing  to  accept  the  dictates  of  my  superiors 
and  stealing  the  Machinists'  District  and  then  giving  it  away 
to  the  Federation.  The  first  day  was  absorbed  in  Buckalew's 
opening  speech,  which  was  as  flowery  as  spring  hats  at  Atlantic 
City  and  as  useless  as  an  extension  on  a  silk  gown  in  a  bar- 
room dance  hall.  Here  I  learned  my  first  lesson  to  plead  guilty 
to  nothing  under  the  instructions  of  the  learned  counsel,  J.  J. 
Meagher.  The  next  day's  proceedings  were  opened  up  by 
Attorney  Meagher's  eloquent  speech,  which  was  so  penetrating 
that  the  wall  paper  started  to  crack,  the  curtains  swung  as  if 
rocked  by  the  northern  winds  that  sweep  the  prairies,  while 
Prosecuting  Counsel  Buckalew  sank  deeper  and  deeper  upon 
his  hickory  chair;  the  colored  shoe-shine  performers  with  the 
village  constables,  as  well  as  the  citizens  that  had  come  up  on 
the  square  to  absorb  the  morning  sunshine,  stood  listening  to 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE  147 

the  penetrating  voice  that  escaped  from  over  the  window  sills 
and  went  riding  on  the  aerial  waves.  Little  children  were 
jubilant  over  the  anticipations  that  Barnum  had  come  to  town 
with  his  steam  calliope. 

If  Buckalew  was  of  the  impression  that  his  lubricator  would 
oil  up  the  machine  to  the  extent  of  accomplishing  his  purpose 
after  Meagher's  opening  speech,  he  was  badly  mistaken,  for 
now  some  hard,  cold  facts  had  been  driven  home.  They  seemed 
to  change  the  atmosphere  of  the  situation  and  before  the  end 
of  the  second  day  of  the  trial  Jack  Buckalew  was  the  man 
on  trial  instead  of  "yours  for  victory."  It  developed  that 
Jack  Buckalew  himself  was  the  man  that  first  came  to  the  vil- 
lage and  asked  for  assistance  in  declaring  war  on  the  Grand 
Lodge  and  the  "dips"  who  were  putting  a  cold  blanket  on  the 
strike,  and  that  he  got  more  assistance  than  he  wanted.  If 
there  was  anyone  guilty  of  violating  this  law  of  interfering 
with  the  peaceful  slumbers  of  the  dips,  Jack  Buckalew  was 
guilty.  But  the  District  members  found  him  guilty  for  get- 
ting yellow  and  not  going  the  limit  when  the  storm  came  up. 

The  second  indictment  was  the  turning  over  of  the  District 
to  the  Federation  and  making  the  effort  to  handle  the  strike 
on  a  federated  basis. 

Here  the  Machinist  District  was  placed  on  trial  instead 
of  me.  It  was  Molloy,  the  Business  Agent,  L.  M.  Hawver, 
the  President,  and  the  Board  members  that  approved  of  this 
proposition  and  had  turned  it  over  to  McCreery  and  begged 
me  to  serve  them  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Federation,  and 
my  only  crime  was  that  I  served  them  too  well.  When  Buck- 
alew came  around  at  the  behest  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
Machinists  to  bury  it,  he  was  pulled  to  one  side  and  told  to 
put  his  foot  on  the  soft,  soft  peddle,  and  when  McCreery  went 
wrong  he  was  also  put  on  the  shelf,  and  in  this  case  the  Dis- 
trict members  refused  to  find  themselves  guilty.  Before  the 
trial  was  over  Buckalew  received  a  telegram  from  Washington, 
D.  C.,  signed  by  President  Johnston,  which  stated  that: 

McCreery  wires  that  he  had  no  connections  with  Person. 


148  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

This,  however,  was  the  biggest  joke  of  them  all,  as  both 
Molloy  and  Hawver  were  there  to  substantiate  the  fact  that 
McCreery  had  been  in  Clinton  and  laid  around  there  and  cried 
until  I  conceded  to  take  hold  of  the  Federation,  and  I  pulled 
out  several  letters  received  from  him,  as  well  as  the  $50  check 
he  had  returned  to  me,  and  Newman,  Hawver,  Molloy  and 
Meagher  testified  to  the  fact  that  they  had  approved  of  the 
federation  proposition  submitted  to  President  McCreery  by 
the  District  officers.  Like  Judas  Iscariot  in  that  drama  before 
Pilate,  who  sold  himself  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  McCreery 
now  turned  the  same  trick  for  the  promise  of  a  cushioned  seat 
on  the  staff  of  the  sky  pilots,  which  was  presented  to  him  at  the 
Milwaukee  convention  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Railroad  Carmen 
in  1913.  And  there  is  one  thing  that  President  Ryan  of  the 
Carmen  can  be  admired  for :  he  stood  true  to  his  promise  here 
and  paid  McCreery  off;  that's  more  than  McCreery  will  do 
for  him  if  Ryan  ever  gets  caught  in  a  tight  place. 

The  District  officers  again  re-concurred  in  their  former 
action  as  submitted  to  McCreery,  and  my  instructions  were  to 
carry  out  the  specifications  of  welding  the  movement  together 
on  a  federated  basis,  with  McCreery  on  the  coffin  at  Paducah, 
and  the  "dips"  barking  like  hungry  wolves  at  every  station 
they  made.  The  court  at  Clinton  adjourned  and  the  District 
members  left  for  their  destination,  while  Buckalew  took  the 
midnight  flyer  for  Washington  to  make  a  report  on  the  case 
to  his  superior.  The  Advisory  Board  members  of  District 
No.  21  that  were  the  jury  in  the  case  were  A.  E.  Fritz,  J.  J. 
Meagher,  P.  J.  Jensen,  E.  M.  Young,  J.  A.  Nortney,  Wm.  A. 
Newman,  L.  M.  Hawver,  H.  J.  Molloy,  Vice  President  J.  D. 
Buckalew,  and  the  defendant,  yours  truly. 

In  accordance  with  the  Machinists'  constitution,  the  Grand 
Lodge  has  jurisdiction  over  a  District  lodge,  and  notice  was 
served  on  President  Hawver  of  the  District,  who  handled  that 
office  after  my  suspension,  that  whatever  funds  they  would 
receive  would  have  to  be  disbursed  through  the  District  and 
to  Machinists  exclusively,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Dis- 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE  149 

trict  had  all  agreed  to  handle  their  end  of  the  strike  through 
the  Federation,  they  did  not  do  so  after  Jack  Buckalew  gave 
them  the  Washington  orders  that  they  could  not.  They  put 
up  no  further  fight,  but  laid  down  to  satisfy  Washington. 
Therefore,  in  going  ahead  with  the  Federation,  starting  a 
paper  and  carrying  out  the  instructions  as  given  by  the  Fed- 
eration Advisory  Board,  had  to  be  met  with  the  District 
laying  down  on  their  agreement.  Mr.  McCreery  on  the  shelf 
in  Paducah,  W.  E.  Bowen  of  New  Orleans  carrying  out  Mc- 
Creery's  instructions  to  "keep  hands  off ,"  and  all  the  organized 
forces  of  opposition  against  the  Federation  was  not  a  pleasant 
situation  to  face. 

At  the  time  Jack  Buckalew  had  his  District  in  Clinton  for 
my  trial,  I  already  had  several  men  on  the  road,  one  of  whom 
was  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  G.  C.  Martyn,  formerly  of 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  who  made  a  trip  over  the  Illinois  Central 
Lines  north  of  Memphis  and  organized  the  local  Federations 
previous  to  the  Memphis  convention  in  May,  1911. 

Mr.  Martyn  was  at  this  time  working  in  Somerset,  Ky., 
and  I  sent  him  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  where  there  was  a  convention 
of  different  labor  organizations  of  the  South.  He  went  to  this 
convention  to  advertise  the  strike,  solicit  subscriptions  for 
the  strike  bulletin  and  funds  for  the  movement.  I  am  quot- 
ing you  a  wire  received  from  him,  which  is  as  follows : 

WESTERN  UNION 

NIGHT  LETTER 

1  CH  S  77  Paid. 
ATLANTA,  GA.,  Dec.  9,  1912. 
C.  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  IU. 

Conlon  says  all  G.  L.  Presidents  agreed  to  stop  bulletins.  Have 
arranged  to  finance  Liberator  as  official  bulletin.  Say  McCreery  wrote 
he  was  neither  connected  with  or  supporting  bulletin.  Advises  me  wire 
from  McCreery  agrees  that  I  speak  for  funds  and  send  to  Bowen  and 
Harriman  Lines  all  money  direct.  Says  I  will  go  wrong  in  taking 
subscriptions,  so  I  am  puzzled.  Prospects  good  one  hundred  present. 
Wire  fully  at  once. 

G.  C.  MARTYN. 
8:33  A.  M.— 10th. 


150  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

How  does  this  connect  up  the  situation  ?  Of  course,  Buck- 
alew  had  been  in  Washington  before  he  took  his  District  to 
Clinton  for  my  trial,  and  there  it  was  agreed  on  that  the  strike 
bulletin  must  be  killed.  Note  that  the  wire  states,  "Conlon 
says  all  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  agreed  to  stop  bulletin." 
You  understand  at  this  time  we  had  forced  them  to  federate 
in  order  that  they  might  put  the  strikers'  Federation  out  of 
business. 

Look  up  the  next  portion  of  the  wire,  which  "states," 
"Says  McCreery  wrote  he  was  neither  connected  with  or  sup- 
porting the  bulletin."  Of  course,  McCreery  had  been  fixed 
at  this  time.  But  turn  back  to  the  proposition  endorsed  by 
the  Advisory  Board,  and  then  you  will  see  that  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  bulletin.  No  doubt  that  President  Johnston 
knew  that  Martyn  was  to  be  sent  to  Atlanta  for  this  convention 
and  therefore  sent  Pete  Conlon  there,  who  was  up  to  date  on 
the  issue  in  question.  This  telegram  will  connect  up  the  one 
received  from  President  Johnston  during  my  trial  at  Clinton 
a  few  days  before,  will  it  not? 

But  to  keep  us  from  getting  the  Federation  on  its  feet 
they  are  going  to  start  another  federation  in  competition,  as 
indicated  by  Martyn's  telegram  of  December  9,  1912.  Here 
you  can  see  that  McCreery  appointed  Mr.  Bowen  in  New 
Orleans  as  Secretary  again,  thinking,  of  course,  this  would 
put  a  scare  in  us.  No  doubt  he  was  told  to  do  this,  and  who 
do  you  suppose  gave  him  such  instructions?  I  will  put  page 
65  of  the  January  issue  for  1913  of  the  Machinists'  Journal 
on  the  stand,  and  I  am  sure  that  McCreery  or  Bowen  never 
got  any  space  in  this  journal  before  this  time.  It  reads  as 
follows : 

The  following  circular  letter  has  been  sent  out  by  our  brothers  now 
on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  tells  of  a  means  they  have  adopted 
to  finance  their  fight,  and  is  reproduced  here  so  as  to  assist  them  by 
giving  their  plan  as  much  publicity  as  possible.  If  you  have  not  already 
done  so,  take  up  the  matter  and  get  someone  or  several  to  handle  their 
time  books,  or  at  least  get  into  communication  with  them  through  the 
address  given  in  the  letter  which  follows: 

"Under   separate  cover   we   are    sending  you   souvenir   time   book 


of  the  Illinois  Central  strike  of  1911  and  1912,  which  contains  valuable 
information  as  well  as  being  a  souvenir  of  the  strike,  at  the  same  time 
a  useful  time  book  which  is  used  by  every  working  man. 

"The  time  books  are  gotten  out  by  the  Illinois  System  Federation 
to  raise  money  to  carry  on  the  strike  to  a  successful  termination.  The 
men  on  the  Illinois  Central  are  putting  up  a  noble  fight  and  the  longer 
it  lasts  the  more  determined  the  men  are  to  win,  which  is  plainly  seen 
by  the  losses  reported  by  the  company  to  the  Commerce  Commission. 

"The  Illinois  Central  finds  itself  facing  another  winter  with  its 
engines  and  rolling  stock  in  far  worse  shape  than  they  were  a  year  ago, 
with  their  business  falling  off  to  such  an  extent  that  it  has  necessitated 
great  reductions  in  the  transportation  departments.  They  are  continu- 
ally reducing  tonnage  and  pulling  off  trains  and  showing  in  every  way 
that  they  are  unable  to  overcome  the  effects  of  the  strike.  If  we  can 
maintain  our  picket  lines  throughout  this  winter  we  feel  that  we  can 
force  them  to  a  satisfactory  settlement. 

"We  are  asking  you  to  sell  these  books  or  appoint  some  agent  in 
your  town  to  sell  them  at  the  price  of  ten  cents  apiece,  and  after  retain- 
ing 25%  of  the  receipts  for  your  work  or  their  work,  send  the  balance 
money  to 

W.  E.  BOWEX, 

Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  System  Federation  of  the   Illinois 
Central  and  Allied  Lines,  P.  O.  Box  367,  Paducah,  Ky. 


Now,  what  do  you  think  of  that?  McCreery's  new  Fed- 
eration got  space  in  the  Machinists'  Journal,  printed  in 
the  January  issue  of  1913,  which  means  that  the  copy  must 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  the  printer  about  the  20th  of 
December,  1912.  Mr.  Martyn's  telegram  from  Atlanta 
was  dated  the  9th  of  December,  1912.  They  even  induced 
McCreery  to  start  a  federation  in  competition  to  the  one 
that  he  let  die,  and  then  laid  in  Clinton  for  three  days  to 
persuade  me  to  take  hold  of  it,  and  it  was  turned  over  to  me, 
not  by  McCreery,  but  by  the  Executive  Board,  as  the  records 
will  show. 

Were  any  of  the  other  circulars  sent  out  by  the  Federa- 
tion or  by  the  Machinists'  District  given  space  in  the  Machin- 
ists' Journal?  Not  much.  This  was  the  Machinists'  organiza- 
tion who  started  a  new  federation  by  using  McCreery.  You 
have  heard  Grand  Lodge  officers  sometime  express  themselves 
about  dual  unions ;  of  course,  this  did  not  apply  in  this  case, 
for  they  started  it  themselves.  To  better  understand  this,  you 


152  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

should  turn  back  and  read  Mr.  Bowen's  letter  of  August  15, 
1912,  and  Mr.  McCreery's  letter  of  August  22,  1912;  then 
you  can  better  connect  up  the  conspiracy. 

You  will  note  that  Mr.  Bowen's  address  was  New  Orleans, 
La.,  and  this  was  his  address  since  the  inception  of  the  strike 
until  after  November  27,  as  his  letter  to  me  of  that  date  will 
indicate,  as  it  was  dated  from  New  Orleans.  Did  Mr.  Bowen 
move  to  Paducah,  Ky.,  for  the  emergency  to  get  another 
federation  started,  or  did  McCreery  only  use  Bowen's  name  be- 
cause his  name  was  known  as  Secretary  of  the  Federation  in  the 
early  days  of  the  strike,  when  a  little  money  came  in  without 
having  to  go  after  it? 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  wanted  a  federation  that  they 
could  handle — a  federation  that  would  let  the  movement  die 
without  a  protest;  a  federation  just  like  McCreery  had  run 
up  to  August  22,  the  date  of  the  letter  to  me  when  he  asked 
me  to  go  after  President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  because  the 
movement  was  dying  on  him  in  Paducah,  and  he  knew  not 
what  was  going  on  outside  of  Paducah  at  the  time.  He  did 
not  know  that  at  that  time  there  were  15  terminal  points  where 
there  was  no  one  on  the  j  ob  whatever,  and  he  cared  much  less. 
For  he  thought  the  Federation  and  the  strike  ended  outside  of 
the  city  limits  of  Paducah,  Ky. 

Mr.  J.  F.  McCreery  was  made  Vice  President  of  the  Car- 
men at  their  Milwaukee  convention  in  1913,  so  he  was  compen- 
sated for  his  loyalty  to  the  machine.  By  betraying  the  inter- 
ests of  his  fellows  that  were  depending  on  him  for  leadership 
he  made  himself  a  job.  We  will  now  place  McCreery  on  the 
shelf,  as  far  as  this  story  is  concerned,  for  we  are  done  with 
him,  and  his  name  in  the  future  will  only  be  used  as  a  matter 
of  reference. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Bowen  did  not  know  the  situation  as  McCreery 
did ;  he  was  a  well-meaning,  kind-hearted  soul,  who  was  brought 
up  under  the  authority  which  it  was  a  pleasure  to  respect. 
Mr.  Bowen  was  not  aware  of  the  trap  that  was  set,  but 
realized  it  after.  Mr.  Bowen  attended  the  Railway  Department 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE  153 

convention  in  1914,  where  he  was  taken  ill  and  died  in  Kansas 
City  during  the  convention  there. 

The  following  reply  was  sent  to  the  wire  received  from 

Mr.  Martyn  at  Atlanta,  Ga. : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Dec.  9,  1912. 
G.  C.  MARTYN, 

Atlanta,  Ga. 

Follow  instructions  received  from  Person.  Don't  wire  McCreery 
or  you  will  be  farther  confused.  McCreery  is  trying  to  act  under  Con- 
Ion's  instructions.  Conlon  lacks  information  regarding  our  plan.  Per- 
son selected  as  strike  Secretary  of  System  Federation  with  power  to 
receive  and  disburse  funds.  This  was  approved  by  McCreery  and  Fed- 
eration Executive  Committee.  You  will  not  go  wrong  in  taking  sub- 
scriptions and  sending  funds  to  Carl  Person.  We  can  make  good.  Stand 
firm. 

H.  J.  MOLLOY,  Business  Agent,  District  No.  21. 
L.  M.  HAWVEB,  President,  District  No.  21. 

Mr.  Jack  Buckalew  was  in  Clinton  when  Martyn's  wire 
from  Atlanta  was  received,  and  he  was  happy  to  know  that 
his  comrade,  Pete  Conlon,  was  on  the  job  in  Atlanta  to  oppose 
anything  that  we  were  doing.  I  shall  put  Buckalew  on  the 
stand  regarding  the  Atlanta  matter  after  a  while. 

Mr.  Buckalew  was  not  satisfied  after  losing  his  case  in 
Clinton,  but  started  out  to  work  on  the  members  of  the  District 
that  were  as  yet  putting  their  efforts  in  the  federated  move- 
ment, and  we  will  therefore  track  him  up  for  a  short  while 
that  you  may  understand  what  his  efforts  were,  and  in  reply 
to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hawver  he  writes  as  follows : 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Dec.  18,  1912. 
MR.  L.  M.  HAWVER, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Just  read  your  letter  with  the  enclosures,  all 
of  which  has  been  given  due  consideration.  First,  permit  me  to  advise 
we  cannot  put  on  any  of  the  men  you  mention  as  pickets  and  pay  them 
from  the  funds  we  have  on  hand,  except  Nauman  and  Stone.  I  believe 
the  others  are  Carmen  and  I  am  not  going  to  pay  their  men  to  stay  on 
strike  at  any  place  where  we  are  not  already  doing  so,  and  going  to  stop 
that  just  as  soon  as  I  can  get  a  machinist  to  take  their  places. 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 
International  Vice  President. 


154  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Hawver  had  written  Mr.  Buckalew  in  regard  to  placing 
a  man  on  the  picket  line  at  a  point  where  there  were  no  pickets 
and,  as  you  can  see,  he  states,  "/  believe  the  others  are  car- 
men" Of  course,  a  terminal  point  on  the  system  had  to  be 
deserted  because  there  was  no  machinist  that  would  work  for 
six  dollars  a  week.  Jurisdictional  lines  were  drawn  very  close 
here,  as  you  can  see,  for  even  the  six-dollars-a-week  jobs  of 
looking  after  the  strike  at  Carbondale,  111.,  had  to  be  filled  by 
a  machinist,  or  else  have  no  one  there  to  look  after  it.  You 
will  remember  Jack  Buckalew  as  an  able  "preacher  of  the  all 
for  one  and  the  one  for  all."  Even  McCreery  in  his  letter 
to  me  of  August  22,  1912,  when  he  wanted  me  to  get  after 
President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the 
money  should  be  "pooled"  in  the  interest  of  the  strike.  Of 
course  this  was  before  McCreery  was  "fixed."  Turn  back 
and  read  this  letter  again,  and  then  you  can  realize  that 
McCreery  fell  for  the  song  of  those  that  worked  in  opposition 
to  the  federated  movement. 

Let  us  put  Jack  Buckalew  on  the  stand  again  and  see 
what  he  is  trying  to  do  a  little  later : 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  Dec.  20,  1912. 
BROTHERS  HAWVER  AND  NEWBIAN, 
Clinton  and  Mattoon. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  In  the  future  you  will  please  pay  all  the 
machinists  in  the  payroll  of  District  21  by  check  and  from  the  office 
of  Secretary-Treasurer.  This,  I  believe,  is  in  accordance  wtih  the  laws 
of  both  the  G.  L.  and  the  District. 

Now,  if  you  want  to  know  what  I  think  about  the  matter,  will  say 
this:  the  G.  L.,  as  well  as  myself,  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  keep  two 
offices;  that  is,  doing  business  from  two  points  that  can  be  put  into  one. 
I  am  not  in  favor  of  taking  the  office  away  from  Mattoon,  as  we  have 
that  place  as  well  advertised  as  we  can  for  the  place  to  receive  dona- 
tions. To  make  it  any  other  place  would  be  to  our  detriment  and  espe- 
cially to  Clinton. 

I  need  you  both  in  this  fight,  and  I  know  the  men  on  the  firing  line 
want  you  both  to  stay  on  the  job;  therefore,  I  would  appreciate  it  very 
much  if  Brother  Hawver  can  see  his  way  clear  to  move  to  Mattoon  and 
take  charge  of  the  fight  from  that  point. 

Should  President  Hawver  consent  to  move  to  Mattoon  we  will 
buy  a  new  machine  and  such  other  material,  and  I  rather  expect  that 
between  the  two  of  you,  you  can  handle  all  the  business  from  your 
respective  homes.  We  will  buy  the  machine  anyway  for  the  Secretary- 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE   155 

Treasurer's  office,  but  I  was  thinking  that  it  might  be  used  by  Hawver 
should  he  come  to  Mattoon. 

If  you  men  only  knew  what  I  am  going  through  with  at  this  time, 
you  would,  I  am  sure,  help  to  make  as  good  a  fight  as  we  can  with  the 
means  we  have. 

Please  give  this  matter  your  earliest  consideration  and  write  me  at 
home,  109  Duane  St.,  Topeka,  Kan. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.    D.    BtJCKALEW, 

Vice  President,  I.  A.  of  M. 

The  letter  is  a  joke.  Poor  old  Jack  had  a  stormy  career 
trying  to  satisfy  Washington.  What  he  wanted  to  do  now  was 
to  get  President  Hawver  away  from  Clinton,  for  fear  that  I 
would  use  some  undue  influence  on  him.  Jack  also  plays  up 
the  economy  end  of  it.  There  was  no  use  to  keep  up  two  offices ; 
that's  fine,  but  they  had  no  office  in  Mattoon ;  Wm.  A.  Newman 
was  working  and  had  been  working  for  about  a  year,  and 
handled  the  work  as  Secretary  at  his  home.  If  Buckalew 
wanted  to  eliminate  all  the  unnecessary  offices,  then  he  should 
have  joined  the  Federation  and  handled  all  business  through 
the  Federation.  This  would  certainly  have  cut  out  all  the 
unnecessary  offices,  wouldn't  it? 

But  it  was  simply  Jack's  play  to  try  and  get  Hawver  away 
from  Clinton.  He  puts  up  the  argument  to  cut  out  an  office, 
but  as  you  will  note  he  wants  two  offices  in  Mattoon,  111.,  and 
is  further  willing  to  purchase  a  machine  (not  an  automobile, 
just  a  typewriter)  ;  note  the  promise  of  a  machine.  Jack  is 
playing  here  like  some  small  kid,  who  would  say,  "If  you 
come  over  and  play  I  will  give  you  some  candy." 

In  reply  to  Mr.  Buckalew's  letter,  President  Hawver  wrote 

him  as  follows : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Dec.  23,  1912. 
MR.  J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 

Topeka,  Kan. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  have  your  letter  of  the  20th;  sorry  to  note 
that  you  have  placed  me  in  the  class  of  J.  F.  McCreery.  I  went  on  strike 
for  federation  and  have  sacrificed  15  months,  as  well  as  my  home,  and 
here  you  are  asking  me  at  this  time  to  surrender  all  this  for  a  "machine." 
I  cannot  help  but  think  that  you  had  to  make  McCreery  larger  promises 
than  you  made  me. 


156  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  have  a  telegram  that  my  father  is  sick  in  Florida,  and  will  have  to 
go  down  and  look  after  him.  If  I  could  stay,  I  would  stay  with  Carl 
Person,  the  only  man  in  the  movement  that  has  had  the  nerve  to  whip 
you  all  into  line.  Fraternally, 

L.  M.  HAWVEE, 
President  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

To  give  you  a  better  idea  of  Jack  Buckalew's  attitude  in 
regard  to  the  "all  for  one  and  one  for  all"  that  he  preached 
during  the  early  dates  of  the  strike,  I  will  let  you  hear  from 
Business  Agent  Molloy  on  the  subject,  who  wrote : 

i 

CHICAGO,  Dec.  29,  1912. 

Dear  Person:  I  received  your  circular  addressed  to  Dear  Rebel  and 
Agitator;  that  will  get  some  of  their  goats  if  they  get  to  see  it. 

I  seen  Buckalew  yesterday,  and  he  said  that  Hawver  wanted  to  put 
on  three  Carmen,  and  that  he  had  told  Hawver  that  hereafter  "WE  THE 
DISTRICT"  would  not  pay  any  Carmen  or  Boilermakers,  or  anyone 
else  benefits,  from  the  Machinist  funds.  Some  more  nice  big  spirit  for 
the  DADDY  OF  THE  FEDERATION.  I  guess  he  means  to  follow 
instructions  from  now  on. 

I  had  quite  a  talk  with  Jim  Kline  the  other  day  and  he  is  not  opposed 
to  putting  one  of  his  Vice  Presidents  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  let  him 
work  under  the  Federation.  He  said  he  would  do  so,  if  the  other  Grand 
Lodge  Presidents  would.  Some  of  us  little  fellows  have  big  ideas,  but 
Jim  Kline  is  a  big  fellow  that  will  listen  to  anything  that  seems  right. 

Yours  for  federation, 

H.  J.  MOLLOY, 
Business  Agent  District  No.  21. 

From  Business  Agent  Molloy  we  can  understand  that  Jack 
Buckalew  had  received  his  instructions,  can  we  not?  And  if 
such  was  the  case  should  we  allow  him  or  others  to  tear  down 
the  Federation  movement  ? 

Also  note  what  Molloy  says  in  regard  to  Mr.  Kline,  who 
had  approved  of  our  proposition,  and  would  put  a  Vice  Presi- 
dent from  the  Blacksmiths  to  work  with  us  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Federation.  By  this  method,  and  this  method 
only,  could  we  have  obtained  the  best  results,  that  is,  by  getting 
together  and  working  with  each  other  for  the  interest  of  the 
movement  as  a  whole,  instead  of  for  the  interest  of  a  particular 
craft. 

Molloy  also  gives  us  some  enlightenment  on  Buckalew's 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE  157 

attitude  toward  the  Carmen.  Hawver  wanted  to  put  a  few 
pickets  on  at  points  where  there  was  no  one.  There  was  none 
other  than  Carmen  to  do  the  work.  But  because  they  were 
Carmen  Buckalew  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  them,  and 
therefore  no  one  was  on  the  picket  lines  at  such  places.  And, 
as  Molloy  states,  Buckalew  was  the  daddy  of  the  Federation, 
as  he  admitted  himself  a  little  later. 

As  I  promised  a  little  while  ago  to  put  Jack  Buckalew  on 
the  stand  regarding  the  Atlanta  Convention,  when  Pete  Conlon 
and  McCreery  were  on  the  job,  to  stop  our  man  Martyn  from 
doing  anything  in  the  interest  of  the  men  on  strike  at  the 
Atlanta  Convention.  Therefore,  let  us  hear  from  Jack  Bucka- 
lew's  letter  upon  this  subject,  in  which  he  says: 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 

TOPEKA,  KAN.,  Dec.  81,  1912. 
MR.  G.  O.  MARTYN, 

Somerset,  Ky.,  General  Delivery. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  knew  about  your  visit  to  Atlanta  after  you 
got  there;  I  was  in  Clinton  when  it  was  decided  you  should  be  sent,  but 
no  one  said  anything  to  me  about  it.  Molloy,  Person  and  Hawver  took 
the  responsibility  of  diverting  the  funds  of  District  21  into  the  I.  C. 
System  Federation  some  time  ago.  They  also  took  the  responsibility 
of  putting  on  pickets  of  other  organizations  and  sending  out  organizers 
over  the  country  at  the  expense  of  the  district. 

They  certainly  realized  that  I  was  being  held  responsible  for  every 
nickel  spent  from  the  treasury  of  District  21.  They  also  know  the  hard 
fight  I  have  had  with  local  lodges  in  getting  funds  to  carry  on  this  strike. 
Every  one  must  know  the  uphill  fight  I  have  had  with  the  heads  of 
some  of  the  other  organizations,  and,  considering  the  upheaval  in  our 
own  organization,  brought  about  almost  entirely  by  Person's  letters,  if 
any  action  of  any  kind  was  to  be  taken  relative  to  finances  or  changing 
the  attitude  of  our  district,  I,  as  the  man  held  responsible  for  these 
things  by  our  Grand  Lodge  and  membership,  should  have  been  consulted. 

Therefore,  as  soon  as  I  learned  of  their  action,  I  countermanded 
every  order  as  it  applied  to  Newman's  office  relative  to  financing  anyone 
at  any  place. 

Person  had  several  hundred  dollars  of  his  own  money,  which  he 
started  to  spend,  but  soon  run  amuck  as  he  realized  there  would  be  no 
income  to  replenish  it.  I  did  not  want  him  to  spend  his  money  on  organ- 
izers and  the  Bulletin,  and  agreed  to  finance  the  Bulletin  out  of  the 
district  treasury,  which  has  been  and  is  being  done  at  the  expense  of 
about  $25  per  week.  Perhaps  you  haven't  figured  it  out,  but  it  will  take 
about  400  new  subscribers  every  week  to  pay  for  the  printing  alone.  If 
the  Bulletin  reaches  a  circulation  of  more  than  five  thousand  it  will  be 
a  curiosity.  This  might  have  been  possible  if  Person  had  tried  to  get 


158  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

along  with  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  instead  of  calling  them  dogs  and 
czars.  He  hasn't  the  backing  of  a  single  International  President,  and 
so  far  as  our  organization  is  concerned,  I  just  received  a  letter  from 
Washington  telling  me  that  I  have  jurisdiction  over  Person  and  the  right 
to  take  his  card  and  book  away  from  him  if  he  does  not  stop  maligning 
the  International  officers,  until  such  time  as  he  can  prove  his  statements. 

No  one  but  myself  knows  what  I  have  had  to  contend  with  in  this 
strike.  I  never  yet  had  to  fight  our  own  people  as  I  have  in  this  move- 
ment. I  put  Person  on  the  job  as  statistician  of  the  strike  because  I 
thought  I  could  use  his  Bulletin  with  better  effect  than  the  one  gotten 
out  in  New  Orleans,  with  no  intention  of  ignoring  the  other  Bulletin, 
but  because  it  was  not  giving  results.  Later  on  Molloy  and  Hawver 
appointed  him  Assistant  Secretary,  which  was  ratified  by  the  district. 
Then  my  troubles  commenced. 

I  wrote  Person  and  Hawver  quite  a  lengthy  letter,  telling  them  how 
to  solicit  funds.  This  was  very  successful,  but  they  did  not  stop  at  that, 
but  launched  out  on  their  own  hook  without  advising  with  me  what  move 
to  make,  and  in  a  few  weeks  got  into  a  letter  controversy  with  the  Grand 
Lodge,  which  developed  into  Johnston  wiring  Molloy,  Person  and  myself 
to  meet  him  in  St.  Louis.  At  that  conference  Johnston  made  us  a  propo- 
sition that  he  would  give  us  25  per  cent  of  all  donations  received  and 
would  pay  Molloy's  entire  salary,  thereby  relieving  the  district  of  any 
responsibility  of  his  salary  or  expense.  This  was  agreed  to  between 
Wharton,  Johnston,  Person  and  Molloy  and  myself. 

Just  prior  to  this  suspension,  they  took  hold  of  the  Federation  with- 
out consulting  me  whatever,  and  agreed  to  spend  our  money  on  McCreery, 
Bowen  and  Pullen,  which  I  objected  to. 

If  you  only  knew  the  letters  that  have  gone  out  over  the  country 
accusing  us  of  misappropriating  our  funds,  you  would  realize  why  I  have 
been  so  careful  about  how  the  money  is  spent. 

This  is  just  a  brief  history  of  some  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  Now, 
I  have  notified  a  great  many  southeastern  lodges  and  expect  to  notify 
the  rest  that  our  Grand  Lodge  is  paying  us  six  and  eight  dollars  per 
week,  through  donations  sent  to  us  thru  the  Grand  Lodge.  Any  lodge 
desiring  us  to  have  their  money  can  send  it  to  Preston  with  instructions 
to  send  it  to  Newman,  and  we  will  get  it.  Other  organizations  are  pay- 
ing their  men  ten  dollars  a  week  to  stay  on  strike.  Therefore,  we  machin- 
ists have  got  to  raise  the  extra  two  or  four  dollars,  whichever  we  can 
pay,  by  voluntary  donations.  If  Person,  Molloy  or  Hawver  keep  up 
much  of  their  tactics  we  will  be  unable  to  even  do  this  because  Machin- 
ists will  NOT  donate  to  pay  Carmen,  Boilermakers  and  Blacksmiths 
when  they  are  expected  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Out  of  934  lodges, 
less  than  fifty  are  donating  at  the  present  time  to  the  district.  Perhaps 
about  275  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  This  is  a  fair  idea  of  how  our  members 
look  at  the  situation. 

I  trust  I  will  not  have  to  take  any  action  against  Person  and  his 
Bulletin,  but  we  are  paying  for  it  entirely  out  of  the  district's  money. 
No  organization  is  paying  in  a  nickel.  By  getting  down  to  business  and 
fighting  the  strike  under  the  jurisdiction  of  men  who  have  been  years  in 
this  work,  he  could  be  of  some  service  to  us,  but  a  few  more  of  his 
sarcastic  editorials  and  unjust  criticisms  will  of  itself  put  the  Bulletin 
out  of  business. 

Now,  Brother  Martin,  I  am  a  federationist  first,  last  and  all  the 


time.  I  believe  I  taught  the  major  portion  of  our  organization  what 
federation  means.  I  have  stood  by  it  and  fought  for  it  to  my  own 
detriment  and  I  expect  in  some  instances  to  the  detriment  of  our  organi- 
zation. I  still  believe  in  it  so  much  that  I  was  responsible  for  the  set 
of  laws  being  drafted  that  was  endorsed  in  Kansas  City  and  became 
the  Federation  of  Federations  and  later  the  Railway  Department  of 
the  A.  F.  of  L.  By  taking  this  stand  I  have  lost  many  friends.  I  still 
believe  in  it  and  believe  it  will  be  a  power  some  day,  but  such  tactics  as 
Person  has  adopted  will  be  of  vast  injury  to  what  has  already  been 
accomplished. 

If  you  take  my  <  advice,  you  will  drop  him  right  now  and  do  what 
you  can  to  divert  the  money  that  is  being  raised  into  Newman  and 
Alverd's  office. 

Write  me  in  care  of  Newman's  office,  3101  Champaign  Avenue, 
Mattoon,  111.  Fraternally  yours, 

J.  D.  BUCKALEW, 
International  Vice  President. 

To  properly  comment  on  Jack  Buckalew's  history  of  the 
strike  would  necessitate  several  volumes.  You  have  read  his 
letter  issued  to  the  district  in  September,  1912,  and  you  will 
best  note  how  Jack  has  softened  up  by  this  time.  He  states 
that  his  trouble  commenced  when  I  was  made  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  the  district.  I  fancy  it  was  about  time  to  start  some 
trouble  with  the  strike  breakers  who  were  killing  the  movement 
from  the  inside. 

I  did  not  run  after  Jack  Buckalew  or  the  district,  but  after 
they  came  and  cried  and  as  the  financial  report  of  the  district 
for  June  will  show  they  were  only  getting  a  few  dollars,  it 
was  high  time  for  some  trouble,  and  this  will  be  appreciated 
by  some  of  the  biggest  men  in  the  movement  as  we  get  further 
into  the  story. 

Jack's  ideas  were  so  small  that  he  did  not  think  it  was 
possible  to  get  a  circulation  for  the  Bulletin  over  four  or  five 
thousand.  The  paper  developed  into  a  larger  curiosity  than 
he  expected,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  as  there  were  times 
when  its  circulation  reached  one  million  copies,  and  Jack's 
little  district  did  not  pay  one  cent  for  its  support,  as  he  tries 
to  convey  in  his  letter.  The  district  subscribed  to  have  the 
paper  sent  to  the  lodges  from  which  they  were  getting  funds, 
so  the  district  simply  paid  for  their  subscriptions,  just  the 
same  as  any  other  subscriber  did. 


160  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Jack  further  was  in  favor  of  taking  the  25  per  cent  of  the 
money  that  the  Grand  Lodge  was  confiscating,  as  we  can  see 
from  his  letter,  inasmuch  as  he  states  that  we  accepted  the 
proposition  in  St.  Louis.  From  all  indications  I  made  Jack 
Buckalew,  the  man  of  many  battles,  play  ball  for  a  while,  and 
play  it  hard,  and  that  is  what  he  was  drawing  his  wages  for. 
I  felt  strong  for  making  them  all  earn  their  money,  from 
President  Johnston  down. 

Jack  failed  to  make  good,  and  therefore  Washington  head- 
quarters gave  him  a  short  time  to  wind  up  his  business  and 
resign,  which  he  did  in  the  early  part  of  1913.  We  were  will- 
ing to  play  ball  with  Buckalew  as  long  as  he  was  willing  to 
play  the  game  in  the  direction  of  the  path  that  drove  home- 
ward. He  could  have  remained  as  a  Vice  President  of  the 
Machinists,  stayed  on  the  line  or  elsewhere.  I  would  have  taken 
upon  my  own  shoulders  the  responsibility  for  all  that  Wash- 
ington did  not  line  up  with  and  smiled  at  their  suspensions. 
But  when  Jack  went  out  to  fight  the  Federation,  for  which  the 
boys  had  crawled  out  of  the  round-house  pits,  then  Jack,  too, 
had  outlived  his  usefulness  as  far  as  the  strike  was  concerned, 
and  he  had  to  take  the  consequences  from  the  restless  children 
that  he  had  helped  to  drive  out  upon  the  rocky  roads  of  this 
cruel  old  world. 

When  some  people  are  forced  to  live  up  to  their  beliefs 
and  comply  with  their  utterances,  they  don't  seem  to  like  it 
so  much.  But  they  made  38,000  of  the  boys  from  the  parade 
like  it,  and  it  is  good  policy  to  give  the  policeman  a  little  dose 
of  his  own  medicine  once  in  a  while. 

President  Hawver  had  to  leave  at  this  time  .for  Florida,  on 
account  of  sickness  in  his  family.  He  stayed  there  for  a  while, 
and  later  returned  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  went  to  work, 
but  did  everything  possible  in  the  interest  of  the  strike.  Wm. 
A.  Newman,  the  Secretary  of  the  district,  was  working  in  Mat- 
toon,  just  as  he  had  been  for  nearly  a  year.  Business  Agent 
Molloy,  who  although  he  was  on  the  Grand  Lodge  payroll 
stayed  on  the  job  and,  as  we  have  noted  by  the  records,  worked 


BUCKALEW'S  DYING  EFFORT  FOR  REVENGE  161 

in  the  interest  of  the  Federation,  and  was  successful  in  doing 
so  for  some  time  to  come,  even  at  the  expense  of  the  Machin- 
ists' Association,  as  they  were  paying  him  his  salary  and 
expenses,  but  of  course  did  not  know  that  he  was  one  of  the 
moving  spirits  responsible  for  what  had  taken  place  in  inaugu- 
rating a  federated  effort  of  handling  the  strike.  As  soon  as 
Johnston  found  out  that  Molloy  was  a  Federationist  he  started 
to  take  him  off  the  strike  zone  and  sent  him  out  over  the  country 
organizing.  Molloy  failed  us  here,  for  he  should  have  stuck 
with  the  men  on  strike  and  told  Johnston  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  stand  with  the  men  he  represented  as  Business  Agent  before 
and  after  the  strike  was  called.  Molloy  occasionally  dropped 
around  to  some  of  the  terminal  points  on  the  Illinois  Central 
after  Johnston  had  made  him  an  organizer  for  the  Associa- 
tion and  was  instrumental  in  starting  another  insurrection  in 
the  Machinists'  district  against  Johnston  and  the  Grand  Lodge, 
which  we  shall  see  as  we  get  further  into  the  story. 


PART   III 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  ON  THE 
ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  SYSTEM  FED- 
ERATION BY  THE  GRAND  LODGE 
PRESIDENTS  AND  THE  FEDERA- 
TION'S FIGHT  FOR  EXISTENCE 

FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION 

Y  the  month  of  December,  1912,  the  Federation  had 
got  pretty  well  started,  even  in  face  of  all  the  organ- 
ized opposition.  A  survey  of  the  terminal  points  had 
been  made,  to  determine  how  many  men  were  devoting  their 
time  to  the  strike  and  its  interest  and  what  crafts  they  held 
membership  in,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  money  they  were  being 
paid  for  their  services.  After  the  collection  of  these  statistics 
it  was  time  to  place  them  before  the  different  International 
officers,  so  that  they  would  have  a  photograph  of  conditions 
as  they  really  existed.  On  the  25th  of  December,  1912,  I 
forwarded  them  the  results  of  my  discovery,  as  the  following 
letter  will  best  explain,  and  reads  as  follows: 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Dec.  25,  1912. 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON,  International  President  Machinists. 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN,  International  President  Boilermakers. 

M.  F.  RYAN,  International  President  Carmen. 

J.  W.  KLINE,  International  President  Blacksmiths. 

M.  O'SuLLivAN,  International  President  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 

J.  T.  KENSELLA,  International  President . 

G.  F.  HEADRICK,  International  President  Painters. 

J.  J.  CARRIOAN,  International  President  Railroad  Clerks. 

Dear  Sirs:  The  men  on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  have  created 
this  office  for  the  purpose  of  handling  the  strike  in  a  federated  effort. 
We  are  at  this  time  forwarding  you  some  information  on  what  your 
organization  is  doing  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

163 


164  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We  are  asking  those  of  you  who  are  not  doing  anything  for  this 
movement  if  you  will  place  with  us  a  stipulated  amount  of  money  every 
week  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  necessary  amount  of  men  on 
the  system. 

Would  you  please  inform  us  if  you  will  place  the  money  you  are 
placing  or  that  you  will  place  in  the  future  into  a  general  fund  to  be  used 
for  paying  the  men  who  are  on  the  job?  If  not,  will  you  inform  us 
where  you  are  placing  your  money,  and  how  much  of  it  you  are  putting 
out  on  this  system?  If  we  have  made  a  mistake  in  your  standing  on  the 
score  sheet,  we  want  to  rectify  it,  and  we  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you  in 
the  near  future  on  this  matter;  also  what  you  will  do  to  co-operate  with 
us  in  making  the  strike  more  effective,  as  we  want  to  let  the  men  who 
are  working  know  just  what  you  are  doing  in  this  strike  and  what  you 
will  do  in  the  future  for  its  best  interest,  and  in  this  we  do  not  desire  to 
misrepresent  anything.  With  the  co-operation  of  all  concerned  results 
can  be  accomplished.  Let  us  know  how  much  money  you  are  going  to 
place  on  the  system  and  where,  and  if  the  Grand  Lodges  are  not  going 
to  place  enough  on  the  system  to  meet  with  the  requirements,  we  will 
then  know  how  much  this  movement  will  have  to  raise. 

The  following  will  give  you  the  number  of  pickets  it  is  necessary  to 
maintain  at  the  different  points  on  the  Illinois  Central  if  results  are  to 
be  obtained  in  the  strike  situation: 

East  St.  Louis 6      Amboy  2 

Centralia 4      Cherokee 2 

Waterloo 6       Ft.  Dodge  2 

Cairo 3      Memphis 8 

Princeton 2      Vicksburg   6 

Mounds 3      McComb 6 

Freeport 6       New  Orleans 6 

Paducah 8      Mattoon  4 

Fulton    2      Clinton  4 

Central  City  2      Chicago 12 

Jackson    2      Evansville   4 

Champaign 4       Carbondale    2 

Louisville 4      Water  Valley , .  6 

Council  Bluffs 2 

Indianapolis    2  Total 122 

Birmingham    2 

It  is  necessary  for  this  movement  to  get  at  least  fifteen  dollars  a 
week  for  the  men  on  the  job.  They  will  then  be  in  a  position  to  devote  all 
their  time  to  the  interest  of  the  strike. 

You  will  note  that  it  is  necessary  as  per  the  line-up  to  have  122  men 
to  look  after  the  interest  of  the  strike,  and  to  pay  each  man  $15  per  week. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  spend  $1,830  per  week  on  the  Illinois  Central 

Total  number  of  men 122 

Amount  per  week $15.00 

610 
122 


Total  amount  for  week $1,830.00 


FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION    165 


You  are  now  placing  about  $918  per  week  on  the  system,  and  in  the 
distribution  of  this  money  you  have  forgotten  that  Amboy,  Council  Bluffs, 
Cherokee,  Indianapolis,  Carbondale  and  Birmingham  are  important  junc- 
tions on  the  Illinois  Central.  YOU  have  done  nothing  at  these  points, 
and  some  of  you  have  forgotten  all  the  points  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  the  fact  that  your  organization  is  on  strike  on  this  road. 

Name  of  organizations  and  the  amount  of  men  on  their  payroll  at 
the  different  points  on  the  Illinois  Central  System,  Dec.  25,  1912: 


Machin-  Boiler-  Black-  Car- 

ists  makers  smiths  men 

East  St.  Louis...  2200 

Centralia  2  0  0             0 

Waterloo 3  1  1            0 

Cairo    1  0  0             0 

Princeton 1  0  0            0 

Mounds    1  0  1            0 

Freeport   3  0  1            0 

Paducah 4  2  1             3 

Pulton    0  0  0             1 

Central  City 0  1  0            1 

Jackson   1  0  1            0 

Champaign   2  0  0            0 

Louisville 1  0  0            0 

Council  Bluffs 0000 

Indianapolis   0  0  0            0 

Birmingham 0  0  0            0 

Amboy 0  0  0            0 

Cherokee  0  0  0            0 

Ft.  Dodge 0  0  0            0 

Memphis    6  0  2            0 

Vicksburg   5  0  0            0 

McComb 4  0  2            4 

New  Orleans 2000 

Mattoon 2  0  1             0 

Clinton  3  0  0            0 

Chicago    6  2  2            0 

Evansville 2  0  0            0 

Carbondale  0  0  0            0 

Total..         ..61  8  12            9 


Sheet  Mt.          Total 
Clerks  Wkrs.  Ptrs.  Pkts. 


4 
2 
6 
1 
1 
2 
4 

11 
1 
2 
2 
2 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 
5 

12 
2 
3 
3 

11 
2 
0 

86 


Weekly  benefits  Total  per  week 

paid  by  at  all  points 

Machinists $12.00  $612.00 

Boilermakers    10.00  80.00 

Blacksmiths  10.00  120.00 

Carmen    4.00  45.00 

Sheet  Metal  Workers 10.00  60.00 

Clerks (Dead  as  a  door  nail) 

Painters    DEAD 


166  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

The  Machinists  have  in  addition  to  the  number  listed  herein,  some 
forty  men  on  the  I.  C.  System,  that  they  are  paying  from  six  to  eight 
dollars  per  week. 

The  Boilermakers  are  at  this  time  placing  several  men  on  the  system 
and  the  eight  that  the  Boilermakers  have  on  at  this  time  are  just  put 
on;  they  have  not  done  anything  in  the  way  of  paying  their  pickets  for 
a  long  time.  However,  they  are  making  an  effort  to  this  end  at  this  time. 

I  shall  thank  you  for  an  early  reply  and  assuring  you  that  we  court 
your  co-operation,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 


The  Machinists  who  were  credited  with  $12  per  week  were 
receiving  four  dollars  out  of  this  from  the  district.  Imagine, 
if  you  can,  this  proposition's  getting  into  Washington.  After 
Mr.  Johnston  had  left  Jack  Buckalew  a  month  before  he 
received  this  letter,  with  the  expressed  hope  that  he  would  be 
able  to  put  the  movement  out  of  business,  here  we  were  stronger 
than  ever,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  we  knew  more 
about  the  situation  than  they  did  themselves.  While  they 
were  successful  through  their  report  in  the  monthly  journals 
to  make  the  element  that  never  question  anything  believe  that 
they  had  several  thousand  men  on  the  line,  and  that  the  strike 
was  being  fought  aggressively,  they  discovered  that  somebody 
had  gone  over  the  situation  and  taken  the  blue  prints.  Presi- 
dent Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  wrote  the  following  letter: 

CHICAGO,  TIL.,  Dec.  27,  1912. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Box  33,  Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  December  25,  1912,  to  the 
various  officers  just  received  and  carefully  noted.  In  reply  to  same,  I 
wish  to  state  the  following: 

I  am  perfectly  willing  for  someone,  be  he  as  black  as  a  Hottentot, 
or  as  red  as  an  Indian,  if  he  is  unselfish  enough  and  big  enough  to  lay 
aside  his  craft  jealousy,  to  inaugurate  a  system  that  will  satisfy  the 
rank  and  file.  I  will  assure  you  this,"  that  he  will  have  the  co-operation 
of  the  undersigned. 

You  say  that  it  is  necessary  to  pay  the  men  at  least  $15  per  week. 
There  is  no  reason  why  this  cannot  be  done  for  the  men  that  are  giving 
us  their  time,  if  the  proper  co-operation  can  be  established.  We  are  now 
putting  $160  per  week  on  the  Illinois  Central;  you  did  not  credit  us 
with  one  picket  in  Centralia,  one  at  Vicksburg,  and  we  have  two  at 
Water  VaUey. 


FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION     167 

As  I  said  above,  I  am  willing  to  co-operate  with  anyone  that  is  not 
bothered  with  cold  feet ;  that  will  organize  a  system  of  pickets  that  will  be 
effective,  for  I  believe  we  can  make  the  old  Hog  route  squirm. 
With  best  wishes  for  your  success,  I  am, 

J.  W.  KLINE, 
International  President  I.  B.  of  B.  &  H. 


This  was  received  later  from  the  Brotherhood  of  Painters 
and  Decorators : 

LAFAYETTE,  IND.,  January  21,  1913. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Federation  of  Railway  Employees, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  communication  (No.  4542)  urging  that 
the  Brotherhood  provide  pickets  to  serve  on  the  firing  line  has  been 
submitted  to  the  General  Executive  Board  of  the  Brotherhood  for  its 
consideration. 

I  am  instructed  to  notify  you  that  so  many  demands  for  better 
conditions  are  being  made  this  spring  and  so  many  strikes  are  expected, 
the  members  in  several  large  cities  being  already  on  the  street,  that  the 
General  Executive  Board  have  decided  to  defer  all  requests  for  financial 
assistance  until  its  April  meeting,  when  it  will  be  in  a  better  position 
to  use  to  good  advantage  the  limited  amounts  available  for  organizing 
and  defense  purposes.  The  Board  regrets,  therefore,  to  be  unable  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  the  Federation. 

Fraternally  yours, 

J.  S.  KEMP,  G.  S.  T. 

The  letters  from  the  Blacksmiths  and  the  Brotherhood  of 
Painters  were  the  replies  received  from  our  letter  to  the  gen- 
eral officers.  The  other  general  officers  would  not  even  recog- 
nize the  Federation  to  the  extent  of  answering  our  commu- 
nications. It  can  be  said  for  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Line  railroads  that  they  did  better  than  this,  for  they  at  least 
answered  the  communications  from  the  Federation  secretaries 
and  presidents  when  a  conference  was  requested  by  the  Federa- 
tions. The  communications  were  from  the  Illinois  Central 
System  Federation  and  drafted  in  compliance  with  what  the 
Federation  Advisory  Board  instructed  to  be  done.  Further, 
in  compliance  with  what  President  McCreery  wrote  me  in  his 
letter  asking  me  to  go  after  President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen 
and  further  stated,  "it  looks  like  all  the  crafts  should  pool  their 
money  and  maintain  pickets."  Of  course,  by  this  time  we 


168  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

had  lost  McCreery,  but  that  should  not  have  changed  the  situ- 
ation any.  We  could  not  afford  to  lay  down  on  the  job  and  let 
the  movement  die,  because  McCreery  had  been  oiled  up  and 
promised  a  vice  presidency  from  the  Carmen,  could  we? 

J.  A.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers  did  not  answer  the 
letter,  but  he  had  seen  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  and  realized 
that  although  he  would  not  recognize  the  Federation,  he  had 
to  get  out  and  do  something  to  prevent  us  from  getting  out 
another  such  statement  with  only  a  few  men  on  the  system. 
He  called  his  field  men  in  at  once  and  gave  them  new  con- 
signments, as  the  records  will  show.  The  Vice  Presidents  went 
out  on  flying  trips  and  tried  to  put  on  pickets  and  they  were  so 
late  on  this  excursion  that  when  they  got  to  some  of  the  points, 
the  boilermakers  had  left  to  go  to  work  elsewhere  because  there 
was  no  money  to  keep  them  on  the  job.  Let  us  see  wjiat  they 
started  out  to  do  as  soon  as  our  letter  of  the  25th,  1912,  had 
reached  them.  In  this  I  quote  the  following  authority. 

J.  F.  Schmitt  was  Vice  President  of  the  Boilermakers.  In 
his  report  in  the  February  issue  of  the  Boilermakers'  Journal 
for  1913,  pages  114-115,  he  states: 

I  put  on  MacMillan  as  a  picket  at  Waterloo,  la.  Could  not  find  & 
boilermaker  in  Freeport,  therefore  none  to  put  on  as  a  picket.  Put  on 
Brothers  White,  O'Brien,  Sullivan,  and  Cundiff  at  Chicago.  Made  Clin- 
ton and  not  a  boilermaker  there.  Put  on  Reynolds  at  Mattoon,  111.; 
Eggers  at  Centralia,  111.;  Hoeflick  at  Evansville,  Ind.;  Robarbs  at  Cen- 
tral City,  Ky.;  put  on  Pruse  and  Beadless  at  Paducah,  Ky.;  O'Neal  and 
Van  Deventer  at  Memphis,  Tenn.;  Baker  at  Water  Valley;  O'Bean  at 
McComb;  Baker  at  Algiers,  La. 

Why  was  it  that  the  Boilermakers'  International  Union 
was  just  commencing  to  put  on  pickets  seventeen  months  after 
the  strike? 

Let  us  hear  further  from  Jos.  P.  Ryan,  Vice  President 
of  the  Boilermakers,  assigned  to  the  Harriman  Lines,  in  the 
February  Journal  of  1913,  page  113: 

I  made  North  Platte,  Neb.,  and  appointed  Thos.  McGovern  and 
Ed.  Rodden  as  representatives  there.  Arrived  in  Denver  and  could  find 
no  boilermakers  there  for  picket  duty.  Put  on  John  Shields,  John 
Murphy  and  John  Rodine  at  Cheyenne,  Wyo.;  put  on  Jacob  Claus  and 
Frank  Lepper  at  Laramie;  put  on  Brother  Dunn,  Edward  Doherty,  and 


FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION     169 

John  Henderson  at  Ogden.  There  being  but  one  member  available  for 
picket  duty  at  Salt  Lake,  Brother  Roy  Barrett,  I  appointed  him. 
Put  on  John  Morrow  and  Ed.  Weeks  at  Evanston,  Wyo.;  Chas.  Coffin 
and  John  Vaughan  at  Pocatello. 

A.  O.  Hoard  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers  also  made  a  tour 
of  the  struck  lines  and  put  on  men  here  and  there.  In  all 
cases,  however,  anyone  that  did  strike  duty  had  to  belong  to 
the  craft  that  put  up  the  money,  and  if  they  could  not  find 
a  "worthy  brother"  of  their  craft  at  some  place,  then  that 
place  could  stay  deserted.  The  Machinists  slipped  on  a  man 
here  and  there.  It  indicates,  however,  that  there  was  some- 
thing brewing  and  enough  noise  behind  the  clouds  that  stirred 
them  into  action. 

The  men  on  the  line  no  doubt  wondered  what  had  hap- 
pened, that  they  became  so  generous  all  of  a  sudden,  but  it  was 
this  demand  that  had  come  through  the  Illinois  Central  Fed- 
eration, calling  their  attention  Jto  what  they  were  and  what 
they  were  not  doing.  When  they  found  out  that  we  knew  how 
much  money  they  were  putting  on  the  line,  and  just  where 
they  were  putting  it,  the  field  men  were  sent  out  at  once ;  but 
of  course  it  was  a  craft  proposition  with  all  of  them,  and  there- 
fore when  they  got  their  men  on,  there  were  possibly  ten  pickets 
at  one  point  and  at  the  next  terminal  there  was  not  one.  Then 
in  the  next  month's  Journal  of  the  fraternity  the  worthy 
brothers  would  be  told  about  the  "principle  of  all  for  one  and 
one  for  all." 

On  the  Harriman  Lines  the  situation  was  even  worse  than 
it  was  on  the  Illinois  Central.  Out  of  a  possible  eighty  ter- 
minal points  on  the  Harriman  Lines  there  were  only  about 
eighteen  terminal  points  where  the  men  on  the  line  were  getting 
strike  benefits  at  this  time.  That  was  possibly  due  to  the 
fact  that  no  one  had  gone  after  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
from  the  Harriman  Lines  up  to  this  time,  and  so  that  you  will 
realize  that  this  is  not  at  all  fiction,  I  wish  to  quote  you  some 
authority  on  this.  Business  Agent  J.  G.  Taylor,  who  handled 
the  strike  on  the  coast  for  the  Machinists,  says  in  his  report 
which  was  written  about  December  20,  1912  (about  the  same 


170  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

time  as  my  letter  of  December  25  was  issued  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers)  and  is  printed  in  the  Machinists'  Journal  a 
month  afterwards  (page  65,  of  the  January  issue  of  the 
Machinists'  Journal)  the  following: 

Getting  down  to  brass  tacks,  I  visited  Sparks,  Nev.,  and  spent 
two  days  there.  We  have  ten  pickets  of  the  various  crafts  on  the  line 
there,  NONE  OF  WHOM  ARE  DRAWING  BENEFITS  FROM  ANY 
SOURCE,  and  all  of  whom  are  supporting  themselves. 

Such  were  the  conditions  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  and 
Sparks,  Nev.,  was  one  of  the  largest  shops  on  the  Harriman 
Lines,  and  thirteen  months  after  the  strike  was  called  there 
was  only  ten  men  on  the  picket  line,  none  of  them  getting  one 
cent  in  strike  benefits.  How  long  could  these  men  be  expected 
to  stay  on  the  line  under  these  conditions?  Why  did  not  Mr. 
Taylor  protest  against  these  conditions?  As  Business  Agent 
did  he  not  realize  that  this  would  eventually  cause  the  ship 
to  go  down? 

Good  picket  lines  on  the  Harriman  Lines  were  maintained 
at  Oakland,  Cal. ;  Portland,  Ore. ;  Tracy,  Cal. ;  Milford,  Utah ; 
Tucson,  Ariz. ;  El  Paso,  Texas ;  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  Roseburg, 
Ore. ;  Hempstead,  Texas ;  Starbuck,  Wash. ;  Ogden,  Utah ; 
Pocatello,  Idaho;  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  and  a  few  other  places 
where  there  was  a  live  bunch  of  men,  and  where  they  were 
able  to  remain  on  the  line,  as  J.  G.  Taylor,  Machinists' 
Business  Agent,  states  they  were  at  Sparks,  Nev.,  without 
any  benefits. 

With  $3,000  a  week  a  picket  line  could  have  been  estab- 
lished on  the  Harriman  Lines  and  the  men  paid  sufficient  to 
stay  on  the  job.  For  $5,000  a  week  the  strike  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  could  have  been  handled  effec- 
tively and  successfully.  Had  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  got 
together  as  was  requested  in  this  letter  of  December  25,  1912, 
and  pooled  their  interests  as  far  as  the  strike  was  concerned, 
they  could  have  fought  and  won ;  and  if  not,  kept  it  up  indefi- 
nitely. For  if  six  or  seven  International  Unions  could  not 
raise,  or  afford  to  spend  $5,000  per  week  in  a  strike  that  was 


FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION     171 

of  as  much  importance  to  them  as  one  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines,  even  if  they  had  to  continue  to  spend 
this  amount  for  ten  years  to  come,  then  they  have  ceased  to 
be  labor  organizations.  But  in  the  words  of  that  old  and  well- 
known  rebel,  E.  V.  Debs,  they  are  coffin  clubs  and  should  hand 
their  charters  over  to  secret  societies. 

President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  did  not  answer  the  letter 
of  December  25,  1912,  but  it  was  instrumental  in  jarring  a 
piece  of  money  loose  for  the  men  on  strike  a  little  later.  We 
shall  put  Mr.  John  Scott,  Secretary  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment, on  the  stand.  Here  is  his  statement: 

j> 

RAILROAD  EMPLOYEES'  DEPARTMENT 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  15,  1913. 
C.  E.  PERSON, 

Box  No.  32, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  For  your  information  I  beg  to  advise  that 
I  am  in  receipt  of  the  following  list  of  checks  that  have  been  sent  to 
the  members  of  the  B,  R.  C.  of  A.  by  Brother  Weeks  on  the  12th.  This 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  picket  lines  at  the  various  points. 
As  Brother  Ryan  is  desirous  of  doing  the  best  possible  under  the  cir- 
cumstances with  the  limited  means  at  hand,  I  am  sure  that  he  would 
appreciate  any  suggestions  you  can  offer  that  would  in  any  way  help 
matters. 

Dewey,  Centralia $100.00       Memphis,  Tenn $  50.00 

Council  Bluffs 100.00       Paducah,  Ky 100.00 

Evansville,  Ind 50.00       Chicago,  111.  ...v 50.00 

Vicksburg,  Miss 100.00       Clinton,  111 50.00 

New  Orleans,  La 100.00       Freeport,  111 50.00 

Mounds,  111 100.00       Amt.  to  I.  C 1,200.00 

McComb,  Miss 100.00       Amt.  to  Harriman  Lines 

E.  St.  Louis,  111 100.00 

Water  Valley,  Miss 100.00          Total  $2,350.00 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     JOHN  SCOTT, 

Secretary-Treasurer. 

Mr.  Scott  stated  in  his  letter  that  he  thought  Mr.  Ryan 
of  the  Carmen  would  appreciate  any  suggestions,  and  while 
I  had  sent  Mr.  Ryan  a  suggestion  on  December  25,  1912, 
which  he  had  not  as  yet  answered,  I  favored  Mr.  Scott  with 
the  following  suggestions : 


172  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  May  16,  1913. 
MR.  JNO.  SCOTT, 

301  Sawyer  Bldg., 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Dear  Scott:  Yours  of  May  15,  including  a  statement  of  distribu- 
tion of  money  by  the  Carmen's  Association,  to  hand  and  fully  noted. 

Will  say  in  response  to  same  that  it  is  only  another  demonstration 
of  precedent,  and  only  what  can  be  expected  of  proselytes  of  INDIVID- 
UALISM along  the  lines  that  can  give  no  RESULTS — some  more 
money  placed  with  those  who  are  simply  on  strike  and  NOT  STRIKING. 

Some  of  this  money  is  placed  with  men  who  are  entitled  to  some 
compensation,  but  most  of  it  is  placed  with  those  who  will  not  and  have 
not  turned  a  hand  over  for  the  interest  of  this  strike,  and  in  fact  they 
are  working,  but  this  is  their  system.  This  is  the  only  LAW  that  they 
know— the  law  of  INDIVIDUALISM— and  let  me  say  while  the  Car- 
men are  EXTREME  ADHERENTS  of  this  law  that  is  a  crude  viola- 
tion of  all  the  efforts  of  FEDERATION,  they  are  not  alone;  there  are 
others  from  the  OLD  SCHOOL,  with  the  old  thoughts,  but  I  might  state 
that  this  distribution  that  they  are  making  is  one  that  will  give  about 
one  hundred  dollars  results  for  a  thousand-dollar  investment. 

The  joke  of  it  is,  at  Fulton,  Ky.,  Carbondale,  111.,  they  have  had  a 
man  at  each  point  all  the  time  and  they  did  not  pay  them  anything. 
They  have  devoted  all  their  time  to  the  interest  of  the  movement,  but 
they  were  not  entitled  to  any  compensation.  However,  I  presume  they 
cut  them  out  because  they  know  that  we  would  pay  them  if  we  could. 

I  wrote  Ryan  and  the  rest  of  the  Presidents  some  time  ago  what 
they  could  accomplish  if  they  would  co-operate  with  each  other — if  they 
would  recognize  the  law  or  Federation  that  they  are  doing  so  much 
BELLY-ACHING  about  and  trying  to  force  a  railroad  company  to 
recognize. 

The  fact  of  it  is,  Scott,  they  won't  recognize  the  Federation  them- 
selves, and  thus  they  are  not  getting  the  results  they  should  get. 

If  Ryan  would  take  what  money  that  he  could  place  on  the  struck 
roads  and  Johnston  the  same,  Kline,  Franklin  and  the  rest  of  them,  and 
leave  it  with  you  and  Wharton,  and  you  could  send  the  I.  C.  share  of  it 
to  us,  and  the  Harriman  part  of  it  out  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  or  dis- 
tribute it  direct  yourself,  you  could  keep  a  small  army  of  men  at  every 
point  on  the  system,  and  men  that  would  give  you  results  and  do 
something  for  the  interest  of  the  strike,  and  you  could  pay  them  to  war- 
rant them  staying  on  the  job  and  get  results  for  the  money,  and  further, 
keep  them  on  the  job  all  the  time — not  as  Ryan  is  doing  just  now. 
His  men  get  a  few  dollars;  someone  that  has  not  been  on  the  job  for 
six  months;  he  is  not  acquainted  with  the  situation;  he  does  not  know 
what  to  do.  If  he  tried  to  do  anything,  some  of  them  won't  do  any- 
thing, and  others  will  possibly  lay  off  from  their  work  for  a  week  or 
ten  days  to  walk  the  street  until  the  little  money  they  got  is  con- 
sumed, and  then  there  are  a  few  places  where  there  have  been  a  few 
loyal  ones,  and  they  are  always  on  the  job,  but  they  won't  get  any 
more  than  the  rest  of  them.  Their  methods  of  doing  business  would  be 
a  joke  if  this  movement  was  not  so  serious — if  there  was  not  so  much  at 
stake  for  the  working  slaves — and  because  of  this  it  is  a  crime. 

If  Ryan  is  one  of  those  that  cannot  see  any  further  than  his  own 
LITTLE  FLOCK;  if  his  mental  qualifications  cannot  carry  him  any 
further  than  the  Carmen's  organization,  I  shall  venture  to  say,  in  com- 


FEDERATION'S  APPEAL  FOR  CO-OPERATION    173 

pliance  with  your  interrogations  for  a  suggestion,  if  he  would  pfck  out 
any  three  or  four  points  on  the  system  and  place  a  man  at  each  point 
and  pay  them  50  or  60  dollars  per  month  regularly — enough  so  that 
they  could  meet  their  family  obligations — he  would  get  some  results 
for  his  money,  because  these  men  would  devote  their  entire  time  to  the 
movement;  but  I  must  say  what  he  is  doing  is  an  utter  failure.  It  shows 
a  lack  of  interest  and  disrespect  to  ECONOMY. 

There  are  some  good  loyal  Carmen  on  the  system  who  would  give 
us  good  results  if  they  would  inaugurate  some  method  of  paying  them 
regularly,  and  they  could  do  this  if  they  would  discontinue  to  pay  the 
DEAD  TIMBER,  But  YOU  can't  DO  ANYTHING  WITH  THEM. 
And  so  we  must  do  what  we  can  ourselves  along  the  line  of  federation, 
and  eventually  we  will  have  the  scattered  forces  driven  together.  We 
are  making  progress  with  all  the  obstacles  against  us.  If  the  men  that 
are  working  and  furnish  this  money  will  wake  up  and  see  the  fallacy 
of  the  system,  the  JOKE  and  the  CRIME  of  the  SCHOOL,  they  will 
change.  However,  in  conclusion,  I  might  state  that  it  is  deplorable 
that  men  who  the  workers  look  to  for  leadership  should  prostitute  the 
interest  of  the  workers  as  is  being  done  in  this  strike,  and  violate  all 
the  elements  of  Federation  and  co-operation,  such  as  is  being  done  at 
the  present  time  and  since  the  inception  of  this  strike. 

Thanking  you  for  your  inquiry,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Yours  for  the  same  old  cause, 
Fraternally  yours. 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 

A  copy  of  the  above  letter  was  sent  to  President  Ryan  of 
the  Carmen,  so  that  I  would  be  sure  that  my  suggestions  would 
reach  him.  But  for  some  reason  President  Ryan  did  not  favor 
the  suggestions. 

The  only  favorable  answer  received  to  the  letter  of  Decem- 
ber 25,  1912,  came  from  J.  W.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths.  He 
stated  that  he  recognized  this  was  the  proper  thing  to  do,  and 
the  best  results  could  only  be  procured  through  this  method  of 
handling  the  strike  and  that  if  I  was  successful  in  getting  the 
other  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  to  "come  along,"  pool  their 
interests  and  handle  the  strike  on  the  basis  as  outlined  in  my 
letter,  I  could  figure  on  him  as  the  first  one.  But  get  the  other 
Grand  Lodge  Presidents  to  come  along  on  the  same  proposition 
that  they  asked  the  Illinois  Central  to  come  along  on,  to  recog- 
nize the  Federation  or  federated  law  in  handling  anything 
that  was  impossible,  unless  you  took  a  Winchester  or  two  and 
went  out  and  cleaned  out  their  "camp."  The  game  was  hardly 
worth  while  doing  this  with  a  multitude  of  servile  and  satisfy- 


174  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

ing  serfs  who  stood  and  smiled  as  they  rubbed  it  in.  and 
made  them  like  it.     "Made  them  like  it"  is  right. 


THE  CHICAGO  FRAME  UP 

In  the  early  part  of  1913  there  was  an  attempt  made  to 
settle  the  Illinois  Central  strike.  Mr.  W.  H.  Johnston  of  the 
Machinists  submitted  a  proposition  to  some  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  at  Detroit,  Mich.  This  proposed  settlement 
for  the  Illinois  Central  did  not  include  any  settlement  on  the 
Harriman  Lines,  and  they  were  not  to  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation. The  men  on  the  Harriman  Lines  were  to  be  sacrificed 
for  a  settlement  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

It  developed  that  Mr.  Johnston  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  Washington  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Mr.  Stewart,  who 
was  General  Superintendent  of  the  Southern  Railroad.  He 
had  formerly  been  associated  with  Vice  President  Parks  of  the 
Illinois  Central.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  had  held  official 
positions  on  the  Union  Pacific.  A  banquet  of  railroad  men 
was  to  be  held  in  the  society  circles  in  Washington.  Mr. 
Parks,  who  was  Vice  President  of  the  Illinois  Central,  was  to 
be  there.  It  is  alleged  that  at  this  banquet  a  conference  was 
made  possible  between  Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 
President  W.  H.  Johnston  of  the  Machinists'  Union,  through 
the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Stewart,  the  General  Superintendent  of  the 
Southern  Railroad. 

Shortly  after  this  Washington  banquet,  Mr.  Johnston 
came  to  Chicago  and  met  some  of  the  International  officers 
at  the  Kaiserhof  Hotel,  where  a  proposition  for  calling  off  the 
Illinois  Central  strike  was  considered  on  the  promise  that 
Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois  Central  would  put  300  of  the  strikers 
back  to  work  within  30  days.  According  to  the  notes  of  the 
meeting,  Mr.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers  and  Mr.  Kline  of 
the  Blacksmiths  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  a 
proposition,  and  stated  that  there  would  be  no  settlement  unless 
it  was  put  up  to  the  men. 


THE  CHICAGO  FRAME-UP  175 

Mr.  Johnston  stated  that  it  was  Mr.  Parks'  desire  not  to 
let  the  men  know  anything  about  this  proposed  settlement. 
Johnston  was  then  asked  how  he  wished  to  act.  He  stated 
that  we  should  call  the  strike  off.  In  this  Mr.  Johnston  was 
unable  to  get  sufficient  support  among  the  International  Presi- 
dents, and  finally  Kline  here  demanded  that  the  strikers  be 
consulted.  It  was  agreed  among  them  that  they  would  ask 
Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois  Central  for  a  conference.  Mr.  Parks 
was  called  up  by  Mr.  Johnston  and  a  conference  was  arranged 
between  him  and  the  general  officers. 

Mr.  Parks,  Vice  President  of  the  Illinois  Central,  agreed 
to  come  down  to  the  loop  and  look  the  boys  over.  The  place 
for  the  conference  was  fixed  at  the  Great  Northern  Hotel,  and 
everything  was  to  be  on  the  Q.  T.  A  busy  Burnside  striker 
had  received  an  S.  O.  S.  from  someone  who  was  on  the  "inside" 
at  the  general  office  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  several  of  the 
boys  were  sent  down  to  hang  around  the  Federal  Building  and 
"view  the  passing  show"  that  was  to  take  place  at  the  Great 
Northern  Hotel,  opposite  the  Federal  Building,  Dearborn  and 
Quincy  streets,  Chicago.  Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois  Central 
arrived  and  brought  Mr.  R.  W.  Bell,  Superintendent  of  Mo- 
tive Power  and  Machinery  on  the  Illinois  Central,  with  him. 
The  International  Presidents,  who  thought  that  the  meeting 
was  a  secret  one,  slipped  into  the  hotel  through  a  drug  store 
entrance.  Others  by  the  way  of  the  alley  and  side  doors,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions.  They  did  not  want  to  be  seen  by  any- 
one who  would  happen  to  know  them. 

There  is  no  verbatim  report  of  this  meeting,  but  it  is  said 
that  it  was  a  humorous  affair.  Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois 
Central  appointed  himself  chairman  of  the  meeting  and  at 
least  temporarily  acted  as  President  of  the  Federation  of  Fed- 
erations, while  his  assistant,  Mr.  R.  W.  Bell,  was  the  judge  on 
parliamentary  questions.  Mr.  Johnston  of  the  Machinists 
stated  that  they  could  not  call  the  strike  off  without  putting 
it  up  to  the  men,  as  formerly  requested  by  Mr.  Parks  on  ac- 
count of  opposition  among  the  general  officers.  "Then,"  said 


176  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Parks,  "if  that  is  the  case,  it  is  of  no  use  to  consider  it 
any  further,  for  the  men  would  vote  to  continue  the  strike." 
President  Kline  refused  to  call  the  strike  off  without  his  men 
voted  to  do  so,  but  finally  suggested  to  the  other  International 
officers  that  the  General  Chairmen  be  called  together  and  have 
them  discuss  the  matter.  This  was  finally  agreed  to  before 
the  meeting  with  Parks  and  Bell.  Mr.  Parks  and  Mr.  Bell 
knew  the  attitude  of  the  men  on  the  line  better  than  some  of 
the  International  Presidents;  they  knew  that  they  would  not 
even  give  his  proposition  as  much  consideration  as  the  Inter- 
national Presidents  had  already  given  it,  and  when  it  was  sug- 
gested that  they  should  be  democratic  by  letting  the  rank  and 
file  analyze  this  proposition  through  the  "referendum,"  Mr. 
Parks  insisted  that  a  referendum  on  this  question  would  be  to 
continue  the  strike,  and  so  they  compromised  by  agreeing  that 
it  could  be  placed  before  the  members  of  the  Advisory  Board 
and  General  Chairmen  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation. 

This  decision  was  reached  after  much  discussion  and  a 
meeting  of  the  Advisory  Board  and  General  Presidents  was 
called  to  take  place  at  the  St.  James  Hotel  in  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
for  March  2,  1913. 

At  this  meeting  their  proposition  of  settling  the  strike 
for  the  sake  of  300  jobs  out  of  12,000  men  that  had  gone 
out  on  strike  on  September  20,  1911,  on  the  Illinois  Central 
was  not  only  considered  by  the  Advisory  Board  as  being  an 
inconsistent  and  disrespectful  proposition  to  submit  to  them, 
but  in  addition  the  General  Presidents  were  told  that  there 
could  not  be  any  kind  of  a  settlement  made  on  the  Illinois 
Central  which  did  not  also  include  a  settlement  of  the  Harriman 
Lines. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers,  in  a  letter  of 
March  11,  1913,  covers  these  meetings  in  a  report  of  which 
he  says: 

Kansas  City,  Kan.,  March  11,  1913.  Paragraph  1.  This  is  to  advise 
you  that  on  the  26th  of  February  the  Presidents  of  the  organizations 
involved  in  the  strike  against  the  Harriman  and  Illinois  Central  Lines 
met  in  a  conference  with  Vice  President  Parks  and  General  Superin- 


THE  CHICAGO  FRAME-UP  177 

tendent  of  Motive  Power,  Mr.  Bell,  of  the  Illinois  Central  Lines,  and 
after  discussing  the  strike  situation  in  all  of  its  phases,  a  proposition 
was  made  by  the  officials  to  re-employ  all  of  the  men  who  are  now  on 
the  line  within  ten  days.  This  means,  of  course,  only  those  who  are 
doing  actual  picket  duty,  numbering  approximately  three  hundred  (300) 
men,  and  that  they  would  re-employ  all  of  the  other  men  who  went  out 
on  September  30,  1911,  as  fast  as  they  could  use  them,  and  that  the 
men  would  return  under  practically  the  same  conditions  that  they  en- 
joyed when  the  strike  was  called.  We  met  the  officials  again  on  the 
28th  and  still  a  later  conference  was  held  on  March  7,  but  being  unable 
to  secure  any  more  favorable  terms,  the  International  officers  were 
compelled  to  notify  Mr.  Parks  and  Mr.  Bell  that  we  would  not  pos- 
sibly accept  any  such  condition  as  returning  three  hundred  men  out 
of  the  approximately  nine  thousand  (9,000)  men  who  went  out 
September  30,  1912,  could  not  be  considered  at  this  time.  J.  A.  Frank- 
lin, International  President. 

Mr.  Franklin  is  right  in  his  letter  of  March  11.  They 
were  compelled  to  notify  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  that 
there  was  nothing  doing,  not  because  some  of  them  wanted 
to  do  so  of  their  own  desires.  "They  were  compelled"  to  do 
so  by  the  Advisory  Board  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Fed- 
eration, who  had  decided  that  if  we  had  to  lose,  we  could,  but 
that  we  were  going  to  stand  with  the  boys  who  were  on  strike 
on  the  Harriman  Lines,  win  or  lose.  No  barnyard  smiles 
from  any  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  that  Mr.  Parks  of  the 
Illinois  Central  could  use  would  have  caused  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral strikers  to  turn  traitors  to  their  fellows  who  were  on 
strike  on  the  Harriman  Lines. 

Mr.  Parks,  who  is  a  shrewd  "business  agent,"  knew,  of 
course,  how  to  play  the  game.  He  knew  that  if  he  could  make 
a  break  on  the  Illinois  Central  he  would  eventually  get  good 
results  for  the  Harriman  Lines.  You  will  note  that  he  wanted 
those  that  were  actually  doing  picket  duty  to  go  back  first. 
Why  ?  It  would  appear  that  Mr.  Parks  wanted  to  show  special 
favors  to  those  that  had  been  most  instrumental  in  making  it 
difficult  for  his  company  to  operate.  Or  could  there  be  other 
reasons  for  Mr.  Parks  favoring  the  pickets,  for,  as  you  will 
note  in  Mr.  Franklin's  letter,  he  just  wanted  those  doing 
"actual  picket  duty,"  regardless  of  the  number  he  had  on  the 
line.  This  is  the  aggregation  he  wanted  driven  back  into  the 
bull-pens  on  the  Illinois  Central,  and  if  this  had  been  accom- 


178  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

plished,  the  morning  papers  would  have  come  out  in  headlines 
with  the  news  that  the  Illinois  Central  strikers  had  gone  back 
to  work.  What  effect  would  that  have  on  the  men  on  the 
Harriman  Lines?  Practically  no  effect  on  those  who  were 
determined  and  knew  where  they  were  at,  but  what  about  those 
who  go  on  strike  and  write  home  at  times  demanding  to  know 
why  the  strike  is  not  won?  It  was  Mr.  Park's  opinion  that 
they  would  write  for  their  jobs  and  go  and  take  them.  Now 
that  the  men  on  the  Central  had  turned  them  down,  they  would 
take  what  they  could. 

And  for  this  reason  Parks  wanted  to  put  the  Illinois 
Central  men  who  were  doing  "actual  picket  duty"  back  to 
work.  He  knew  again  that  he  could  not  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose by  agreeing  to  put  back  some  300  men  of  those  who 
had  left  and  gone  to  work  elsewhere  for  fear  this  would  not 
be  satisfactory  with  those  who  were  on  the  picket  lines.  Pos- 
sibly it  was  the  picket  lines  that  Mr.  Parks  wanted  to  break 
up  at  that  particular  time;  he  may  have  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  was  cheaper  to  have  those  who  were  on  picket 
duty  in  the  shops  working  for  the  railroad  than  outside  the 
yards  working  against  its  interest. 

There  are  still  men  who  went  on  strike  on  the  Harriman 
Lines,  and  many  well-meaning  union  men  all  over  the  country, 
who  knew  nothing  of  these  proceedings  where  International 
Presidents  were  made  the  tools  of  railroad  managers  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  break  in  the  ranks.  These  men,  who 
declared  on  the  30th  day  of  September,  1911,  that  they  would 
stand  together,  win  or  lose,  and  never  desert  either  each  other 
or  those  principles  which  the  very  distinguished  gentleman, 
President  M.  F.  Ryan,  of  the  Carmen,  swore  allegiance  to 
so  vociferously  in  that  historic  oration  before  the  Machinists' 
convention  on  September  26,  1911,  in  the  quaint  old  Indian 
city  of  Davenport,  Iowa. 


THE  GRAND  LODGE  INJUNCTION  179 


THE  GRAND  LODGE  INJUNCTION 

You  have  heard  a  little  about  the  "STRIKE  BULLE- 
TIN," and  I  am  going  to  let  you  meet  her.  She  will  be  even 
more  prominent  than  Jack  Buckalew,  Geo.  Preston,  Pete 
Conlon,  or  J.  F.  McCreery  have  been  in  what  you  have  already 
gone  over.  Jack  Buckalew,  who,  you  will  remember  in  his  let- 
ter to  G.  C.  Martyn,  of  December  30,  1912,  claimed  to  be  the 
father  of  the  Federation  in  this  country,  and  who  wrote  the 
constitution  of  the  Federation  of  Federations  that  was  adopted 
at  the  Kansas  City  convention  in  1912,  was  also  the  father  of 
the  strike  bulletin  until  I  had  to  divorce  him  for  non-support 
and  cruelty. 

When  the  District  War  Cabinet  came  to  Clinton  in  July, 
1912,  and  it  was  decided  to  go  to  war,  the  strike  bulletin  came 
into  existence.  While  she  was  a  baby  we  called  her  "Brass 
Tacks,"  and  it  was  not  until  she  could  get  up  and  kick  around 
that  we  started  to  call  her  the  "strike  bulletin."  Jack  left  his 
kid  with  me  to  nurse  as  it  was  growing  up,  for  you  see  "father" 
had  to  go  to  war,  and  the  cruel  world  out  in  the  trenches 
didn't  give  father  very  much  time  to  come  home  and  see  the 
kid.  The  result  was  that  she  became  more  attached  to  me  than 
to  father.  Pete  Conlon,  the  gentleman  from  Washington,  as 
you  will  remember,  heard  about  "Brass  Tacks"  when  she  was 
cutting  her  teeth,  and  while  father  knew  all  about  it,  our 
friend  Pete  thought  the  midnight  hours  would  be  too  long  for 
me  walking  the  floor  with  the  kid,  and  being  an  old  friend  of 
the  family,  he  used  his  influence  with  Colonel  Johnston  and 
persuaded  him  to  let  father  take  a  furlough  to  come  home  and 
see  his  nice  little  baby,  "Brass  Tacks." 

When  father  came,  the  kid  didn't  know  him,  and  the  more 
father  tried  to  make  "Brass  Tacks"  believe  that  he  was  her 
real  father,  the  worse  the  situation  got,  and  as  I  could  best 
get  along  with  the  kid,  father  was  told  to  go  back  in  the 
trenches.  Instead  of  doing  this,  he  went  and  told  his  troubles 


180  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

to  Pete  Conlon,  and  they  applied  to  Judge  Johnston  for  a 
divorce  and  for  the  court  order  to  take  "Brass  Tacks"  away 
from  me,  who  had  rocked  her  in  the  cradle  from  her  infancy 
until  now,  when  she  could  be  of  some  help  around  the  rebel 
camp.  The  court  order  came,  and  "Brass  Tacks"  started  to 
strike  at  them  all,  and  she  struck  so  successfully  that  from 
that  time  on  we  called  her  the  "strike  bulletin." 

After  they  found  out  that  the  "strike  bulletin"  wouldn't 
have  anything  to  do  with  them,  they  started  out  to  kidnap 
her.  Failing  in  that,  then  they  blackmailed  her ;  in  the  mean- 
time she  grew  up  and  was  strong  enough  to  agitate  all  the 
members  of  the  fashionable  court.  To  best  give  you  an  idea 
of  how  she  made  these  fellows  in  shoulder  straps  sit  up  nights 
and  cry  over  Jack  Buckalew's  wayward  child,  we  will  put  all 
the  members  of  the  supreme  court  on  the  stand  that  you  may 
get  the  story  direct  from  them.  I  here  take  pleasure  in  intro- 
ducing you  to  the  honorable  court : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Jan.  25,  1913. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  For  several  months  we  have  been  main- 
taining several  bulletins  issued  at  various  points  in  the  strike  zone, 
and  as  a  consequence  of  this  we  have  from  time  to  time  been  asked  to 
take  some  steps  to  consolidate  these  bulletins  and  have  them  issued 
under  joint  authorization. 

At  the  present  time  these  bulletins  are  being  issued  without  being 
censored  in  any  particular,  and  as  a  result  many  articles  have  appeared 
that  have  a  tendency  to  compromise  us  if  ever  used  against  us  in  a 
court  of  law. 

In  order  that  our  members  may  have  a  complete  medium  of  cor- 
respondence in  the  hands  of  a  competent  editor  whose  business  train- 
ing in  that  line  insures  us  against  unjust  criticism,  we  have  decided  to 
discontinue  all  bulletins  now  being  issued  on  behalf  of  the  Federation 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  and  to  authorize  the 
Liberator,  published  at  Sedalia,  Mo.,  and  edited  by  E.  H.  Behrens,  as 
the  official  strike  bulletin  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines, 
and  we  hereby  direct  our  constituents  to  appoint  a  strike  correspondent 
at  their  respective  points  to  furnish  Mr.  Behrens  with  news  of  this  strike 
and  any  other  matter  of  importance  relative  to  the  strike.  We  also 
request  the  discontinuance  for  the  future  of  all  so-called  strike  bulle- 
tins in  the  name  of  the  Federated  Trades  now  on  strike  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines. 

We  take  this  action  in  the  best  interest  of  our  constituents  now  on 
strike,  and  hope  that  it  meets  with  the  hearty  approval  of  those  whom 
we  have  the  honor  to  represent. 


181 

The  International  organizations  represented  in  this  strike  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  are  financially  contributing  to  the 
support  of  the  Liberator  and  have  arranged  to  furnish  points  on  strike 
with  as  many  copies  as  they  may  have  use  for. 

Fraternally  yours, 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON",  International  President  Machinists. 
J.  A.  FRANKLIN,  President  Boilermakers. 
J.  W.  KLINE,  International  President  Blacksmiths. 
M.  F.  RYAN,  International  President  Carmen. 
M.  O'SuLLivAN,  International  President  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 

As  soon  as  I  received  a  copy  of  this  injunction  against  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  I  decided  to  help  the  boys  along  a  little  and 
give  their  injunction  some  real  publicity;  therefore  we  give  it 
space  in  the  next  week's  issue  of  the  Strike  Bulletin,  and  as 
soon  as  this  issue  of  the  paper  was  out  the  following  telegram 

was  received : 

TELEGRAM 

E  S  B  X  12  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Jt.n.  31,  1913. 

CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Room  6,  Feudensten  Bldg., 
Clinton,  111. 

Where  did  you  get  letter  with  my  signature  appearing  in  bulletin? 
Wire. 

J.  W.  KLINE, 
International  President. 
114  P 

After  the  receipt  of  this  telegram  the  following  letter  was 
received  from  Mr.  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths,  which  speaks  for 
itself: 


CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Jan.  31,  1913. 
MR.  CARL  PERSON, 

Box  No.  32, 
Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  In  looking  over  your  bulletin  No.  5,  dated 
January  31,  the  last  page  you  published  a  letter  signed  by  the  general 
officers.  Permit  me  to  say  that  the  signing  of  my  name  on  that  letter 
is  unauthorized,  I  refuse  to  be  drawn  into  any  of  the  International 
squabbles  of  another  craft.  The  Liberator  has  been  agreed  upon  as  the 
official  bulletin,  and  so  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  have  no  objections  to 
any  other  bulletin  as  long  as  they  are  issued  in  the  interest  of  the  strikers 
and  along  legitimate  lines. 


182  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  wired  you  today  as  follows:  "Where  did  you  get  letter  with  my 
signature  appearing  in  bulletin?  Wire." 

Enclosed  please  find  communications  bearing  on  this  subject.  You 
will  note  the  date  of  the  letter  sent  to  me  is  January  22.  It  was  re- 
ceived here  the  evening  of  the  23rd  and  I  answered  on  the  24th,  and  the 
letter  of  the  bulletin  is  dated  the  25th.  That  is  going  some.  I  am  not 
in  sympathy  with  the  letter. 

We  are  going  to  have  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council  next 
Tuesday  morning  at  the  St.  James  Hotel,  St.  Louis,  and  I  will  then 
possibly  be  able  to  find  out  the  reason  why  my  name  was  used. 
Yours  fraternally, 

J.  W.  KLINE, 
General  President  I.  B.  of  B.  &  H. 

Of  course  I  had  known  what  was  coming.  When  Buckalew 
returned  from  Washington  the  plans  were  laid  to  put  the 
Strike  Bulletin  out  of  business,  and  Johnston  of  the  Machin- 
ists was  taking  the  proposition  up  with  the  other  International 
Presidents.  He  had  requested  them  to  authorize  the  injunc- 
tion against  the  paper  published  by  the  Illinois  Central  strikers. 
Buckalew  told  his  story  among  his  friends,  with  many  smiles, 
so  I  was  aware  that  something  would  drop.  I  thought  it  would 
drop  before  January  25th,  but,  as  usual,  it  took  them  a  month 
to  turn  around  and  perform  a  little  job  that  a  couple  of  the 
kids  in  the  alley  could  do  in  an  hour.  This  was  one  of  the 
reasons  why  McCreery  fell  down  on  the  job.  Buckalew  had 
assured  him  that  all  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  to  federate 
against  the  strikers  and  their  publication.  Of  course,  he  felt 
sure  that  they  would  accomplish  their  purpose  in  a  couple  of 
days. 

They  were  going  to  support  the  Liberator  in  Sedalia,  Mo. 
At  this  time  the  strike  had  run  for  fourteen  months,  and  they 
had  not  donated  a  dollar  to  the  Liberator.  This  was  diplomacy 
and  Jack  Buckalew's  fertile  brain  hatched  it  out  in  the  Wash- 
ington caucus,  when  Messrs.  Johnston,  Conlon  and  Buckalew 
were  throwing  the  mahogany  at  each  other  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  proposition  was  one  that  would  appeal  to 
the  crowd,  for  they  could  say  that  one  paper  was  sufficient 
and  that  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  justified  in  cutting  out 
any  other.  Such  would  be  true,  if  the  strikers  controlled  the 
Liberator  or  the  paper  was  controlled  by  those  that  could  not 


THE  GRAND  LODGE  INJUNCTION  183 

be  harnessed.  Should  the  Liberator  come  out,  as  had  the  Strike 
Bulletin,  and  go  after  the  Grand  Lodge  officers,  "the  real  strike 
breakers  in  this  case,"  how  long  would  the  Liberator  have 
received  their  financial  support  ?  It  was  necessary  to  go  after 
them  to  keep  the  strike  alive. 

There  was  still  another  angle,  and  that  was,  just  as  soon  as 
they  could  have  put  the  Strike  Bulletin  out  of  commission,  then 
the  financial  support  from  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  would 
have  been  withdrawn  from  the  Liberator.  This  was  well  under- 
stood, and  the  Liberator  was  only  endorsed  and  authorized  by 
them  for  the  purpose  of  putting  the  strikers'  paper  out  of 
commission.  This  was  very  plain,  and  therefore  their  injunc- 
tion was  served  against  the  Strike  Bulletin  in  every  lodge 
affiliated  with  the  Federation  of  Federations.  Of  course,  the 
worthy  brothers,  who  had  never  been  fortunate  enough  to  be 
hit  in  the  head  with  a  sledge  hammer  to  get  circulation  in  their 
brains,  could  not  see  it  at  that  time,  along  with  many  other 
things  that  they  were  blind  to. 

After  finding  out  that  they  went  after  our  man  G.  C.  Mar- 
tyn  in  Atlanta,  I  knew  that  they  would  do  anything  to  stop 
the  Strike  Bulletin,  for  they  feared  that  most  of  all,  and  while 
I  did  not  have  very  much  sense  I  realized  that  the  Strike  Bulletin 
was  our  strongest  weapon  and  with  it  we  could  drive  them  all 
in  their  holes  at  times.  This  is  just  what  we  did  at  frequent 
intervals. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Kline  protested  against  the  use  of  his  name  and 
said  that  this  injunction  was  not  authorized  by  him.  If  this 
was  a  fact,  then  Mr.  Johnston,  President  of  the  Machinists, 
committed  forgery  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose  of  put- 
ting the  strikers'  paper  out  of  business.  For,  as  you  will 
remember,  the  strikers  published  the  paper  through  their  Fed- 
eration office,  as  they  were  instructed  to  do  by  the  Advisory 
Board,  when  they  elected  me  as  their  Secretary,  to  publish  a 
paper  in  newspaper  form  was  their  instructions.  I  carried 
out  as  many  of  their  instructions  as  I  could,  regardless  of  all 
and  any  opposition  from  the  Grand  Lodge  officers,  the  rail- 


184  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

roads  or  the  courts.  I  was  only  mindful  of  one  thing,  and  that 
was  that  I  was  instructed  to  publish  a  paper  for  the  men  on 
strike  and  determined  that  this  I  would  do  in  the  face  of  any 
and  all  consequences.  This  was  the  proper  and  decent  thing 
to  do. 

We  were  now  getting  into  a  position  where  we  could  adver- 
tise the  strike  and  take  an  occasional  ram  at  the  "Strike  Break- 
ers" who  were  running  around  the  country  under  the  name 
of  Labor  Leaders,  for  the  purpose  of  disrupting  the  efforts 
the  men  were  putting  up  for  federation.  This  publicity  ap- 
peared to  injure  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  in  prose- 
cuting their  campaign  of  making  the  strike  a  dead  issue,  and 
therefore  they  were  going  to  put  the  Strike  Bulletin  out  of 
business  that  they  could  continue  their  work  unhampered.  But 
again  they  woke  up  late.  The  publication  had  got  on  its  feet, 
and  was  now  big  enough  to  stand  up  against  the  federated 
effort  of  the  International  organizations.  With  all  their  pay- 
roll serfs,  barking  business  agents  and  representatives  from 
all  over  the  country,  in  their  combined  efforts  to  put  the  pub- 
lication out  of  business,  we  were  able  to  make  them  like  it. 
This,  however,  indicated  that  they  were  a  helpless  aggregation. 

Here  was  a  little  grass-town  weekly  publication,  published 
by  the  strikers,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  could  not  put  it  out  of 
business,  much  as  they  desired  to.  Imagine  how  helpless  they 
would  have  been  should  they  have  undertaken  to  pick  a  fight 
with  someone  who  had  brains  and  money  like  Mr.  Markham 
and  Mr.  Kruttschnitt.  This  is  possibly  the  reason  that  they 
never  started  to  put  up  a  fight  against  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines,  because  they  knew  best  the  weakness  of  them- 
selves but  at  the  same  time  overestimated  their  own  weakness 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  thought  they  could  put  the  "strikers' 
paper"  out  of  business. 

To  their  serfs  they  hung  up  the  excuse  that  the  Strike 
Bulletin  would  compromise  them  in  a  court  of  law.  How  is 
this  for  labor  leaders  ?  What  business  has  a  man  in  the  labor 
movement  hanging  onto  it  as  a  commissioned  officer?  If  he  is 


THE  GRAND  LODGE  INJUNCTION  185 

afraid  of  being  brought  into  the  courts  and  like  some  of  the 
folks  in  the  parade  of  the  rank  and  file,  occasionally  take  his 
six  months  on  crackers  and  stale  beans  in  the  village  hold- 
overs. They  are  as  much  out  of  place  as  a  round  house  foreman 
in  a  Sunday  school,  and  for  them  it  is  as  impossible  to  lead  the 
labor  movement  forward  as  it  is  for  a  master  mechanic  to  tour 
the  shop  and  not  find  someone  that  he  thinks  is  "laying  down 
on  the  job." 

Men  like  Mr.  C.  H.  Markham,  Mr.  Parks  of  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Mr.  Julius  Kruttschnitt  can  be  admired  com- 
pared to  such  labor  leaders,  for  they  had  made  up  their  minds 
from  the  first  that  they  were  going  to  fight  and  they  stuck  with 
their  decisions.  The  Grand  Lodge  officers  pledged  themselves 
to  fight  for  and  with  the  men,  and  with  this  pledged  their  last 
dollar.  Some  of  them  started  to  desert  the  strikers  as  soon  as 
they  found  out  that  the  donations  they  were  soliciting  for  the 
"war  babies"  and  put  in  their  own  treasuries  were  not  equiva- 
lent to  the  price  of  the  show.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  the  strike 
became  a  burden  on  their  financial  resources,  it  was  not  only 
given  the  cold  shoulder  but  they  started  to  put  it  out  of 
existence  as  well. 

They  played  their  part  as  shamefully  to  the  men  whom 
they  advised  to  go  on  strike  as  the  old  settler's  son,  who  per- 
suaded his  father  to  sell  the  old  homestead  and  give  him  the 
receipt,  that  he  could  go  to  college.  After  the  boy  had  been 
polished,  he  and  the  old  man  were  to  reside  in  the  city.  But 
when  the  old  man  came,  feeble,  shaky  and  gray,  and  knocked 
on  the  door  which  carried  in  gold  letters  the  name  of  his  son, 
he  was  told  that  he  had  to  go  back  to  the  mountains,  for  his 
gay  painted  wife  would  not  make  a  home  for  him  on  the 
"drive."  So  the  old  man,  shaky  and  gray,  bent  with  the  strug- 
gles of  age,  was  deserted  and  disowned  by  the  polished  product 
of  himself  and  doomed  to  the  corner  of  the  county  poor  house 
and  six  feet  in  potter's  field,  where  a  little  wooden  cross  marked 
his  last  resting  place,  with  the  unvarnished  inscription,  "Here 
sleeps  Simon  Jonathan  Jones,  a  victim  of  misplaced  confi- 


186  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

dence,  deserted  by  one  he  had  loved  and  cared  for  in  child- 
hood and  youth."  So,  too,  with  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers.  The  strikers  had  confidence  enough  in  them  to  mort- 
gage their  cottages  and  sell  their  little  homesteads  that  Labor 
might  be  polished  and  made  a  better  and  brighter  institution. 
The  strikers  were  given  the  same  shameful  reception,  when  age 
and  the  struggles  of  time  had  wrinkled  and  faded  their  efforts. 
They,  too,  like  poor  old  Simon  Jonathan  Jones,  were  told  to 
go  back  to  the  mountains,  that  these  Grand  Lodge  officers 
might  continue  unhampered  in  their  drama  of  the  harlot's 
dance. 

This  is  the  period  of  the  strike  when  the  Federation  Ad- 
visory Board  was  called  into  session  at  the  New  St.  James 
Hotel,  in  St.  Louis,  to  consider  Mr.  W.  H.  Johnston's  propo- 
sition of  calling  the  Illinois  Central  strike  off  for  300  jobs. 
It  can  be  understood  that  frequent  conferences  between  the 
Illinois  Central  officials  and  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  taking 
place.  I  assume  that  it  was  decided  in  one  of  these  conferences 
that  the  Illinois  Central  would  start  legal  proceedings  against 
the  Strike  Bulletin;  at  any  rate,  this  happened.  The  Grand 
Lodge  officers  were  unable  to  make  their  injunction  issued  in 
their  circular  letter  against  the  Strike  Bulletin  to  all  lodges 
throughout  the  country  effective,  therefore  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral came  to  their  assistance  by  causing  several  federal  indict- 
ments to  be  issued  against  myself  for  shaking  up  the  furnace 
and  throwing  a  little  publicity  on  the  situation.  What  seemed 
to  be  more  dangerous,  we  gave  everybody  or  anybody  who  had 
a  song  to  sing  an  opportunity  to  sing  it  through  the  columns 
of  the  paper,  or,  in  fact,  instituted  a  free  and  uncensored  press ; 
made  the  paper  an  unmuzzled  publication,  the  very  thing  that 
labor  leaders  had  been  crying  for,  the  hammer  that  they  go 
after  the  metropolitan  press  with. 

But  in  this  case  there  was  an  opportunity  for  someone  to 
turn  the  searchlights  on  the  officers  themselves  when  they  did 
not  dance  to  the  music,  so  an  unmuzzled  press  was  not  at  all 
popular.  We  were  again  served  with  injunctions  from  both 


THE  GRAND  LODGE  INJUNCTION  187 

the  office  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  upon  the  doors  of  which  is  written  in  gold  letters 
the  names  of  the  sons  of  Simon  Jonathan  Jones.  This  will 
pretty  well  establish  how  well  the  Federation  was  liked  on  both 
sides  of  the  issue. 

The  Illinois  Central  also  found  out  that  their  indictments 
proved  to  be  ineffective,  for  when  they  were  served  it  only 
made  the  fight  more  interesting  and  reminded  me  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  time  to  take  a  new  chew  of  tobacco  and  slip  a  little 
more  fuel  into  the  furnace  that  fed  the  steam  pipes  of  action. 
Mr.  Charles  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  played  a  rather 
small  trick  if  he  caused  these  federal  indictments  to  be  issued 
upon  the  request  of  the  chiefs,  for  he  should  have  told  them 
that  it  was  they  who  had  started  these  troubled  waters  to  boil- 
ing, and  that  they  were  too  yellow  to  carry  out  their  threats, 
that  their  place  was  out  in  the  boiling  waters,  assisting  those 
that  were  testing  their  system,  instead  of  crawling  around  his 
general  offices,  making  apologies  like  little  children  who  had 
dumped  the  teapot  over  on  the  parlor  carpet.  But  Charley 
Markham  threw  an  occasional  smile  at  them,  as  the  kitchen 
maid  does  to  the  milkman,  when  he  should  have  run  them  out 
and  told  them  to  go  to  work  and  assist  those  who  were  working 
hard  on  the  job  they  had  themselves  started.  But  big  men  of 
decision  and  determination  also  have  their  occasional  days  off. 

In  handling  a  railroad  strike,  advertising  is  the  strongest 
weapon.  The  railroads  knew  that,  and  therefore  they  spared 
no  money  in  advertising.  Mr.  Markham  in  his  testimony  before 
the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations  verifies  this  statement, 
"I  picked  out  all  the  large  papers  on  his  lines  and  carried  the 
company's  side  of  the  strike  question."  But  there  is  no  record 
any  place  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  instituting  a  publicity 
campaign,  in  getting  their  side  of  the  issue  before  the  public 
or  the  rank  and  file  of  the  labor  movement. 

In  their  journals  there  was  very  little  space  devoted  to  the 
strike.  In  the  Machinists'  Journal,  Mr.  Arthur  A.  Holder 
was  reviewing  the  strikes  since  1877,  but  said  nothing  about 


188  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  strike  in  progress.  The  other  journals  did  not  give  it 
much  more  attention.  The  Strike  Bulletin,  in  its  several 
"grave-yard  editions,"  gave  the  strike  its  most  effective  pub- 
licity. The  wrecks  that  were  taking  place  were  played  up, 
and  the  information  was  both  conspicuous  and  effective  to  the 
labor  movement  and  to  the  general  public.  Here  was  a  paper 
published  by  the  men  on  strike,  through  the  very  Federation 
that  was  organized  at  Memphis  in  1911.  Why  did  it  not  get 
the  support  of  the  general  Presidents  ?  Did  they,  by  fighting, 
the  men  and  their  efforts,  establish  themselves  as  against  them  ? 
They  would  not  do  anything  themselves,  and,  further,  they 
would  not  let  anyone  else  do  it  for  the  men  on  strike. 

At  many  meetings  of  the  International  Presidents,  the 
Strike  Bulletin  was  the  paramount  issue.  When  a  subject 
came  up  for  discussion  and  its  execution  contemplated,  the 
question  of  "What  will  the  Strike  Bulletin  say?"  was  given 
full  consideration.  They  knew  well  that  when  they  had  any- 
thing shady  to  pull  off  the  Strike  Bulletin  would  do  something, 
and  those  who  contributed  the  weekly  reports  from  the  strike 
zone  would  say  a  whole  lot. 

I  was  now  face  to  face  with  this  situation  of  organized 
opposition,  deserted  by  the  Machinists'  district,  who  should 
have  stood  by  me  if  anyone  should;  deserted,  too,  by  Jack 
Buckalew  and  President  McCreery  of  the  Federation.  Both 
these  men,  if  they  had  any  sand  whatever,  should  have  stayed 
and  put  up  a  fight  against  those  that  they  had  accused  of 
wrecking  the  movement.  Here  was  Jack  Buckalew,  who  said 
in  his  letter  dated  in  Chicago,  Sept.  17,  1912,  "That  if  the 
Grand  Lodge  had  any  idea  that  we  could  run  this  strike  on 
four  or  six  dollars  per  week,  they  might  as  well  get  that  out  of 
their  heads  right  now,"  and  instructed  circulars  to  be  sent  to 
the  lodges  of  the  Machinists.  When  the  operation  was  to  be 
performed,  of  taking  the  idea  out  of  their  heads,  Jack  Bucka- 
lew was  not  there,  as  I  have  already  proven  to  your  satisfac- 
tion, and  the  only  support  that  remained  to  assist  with  this 
operation  was  Mr.  J.  J.  Meagher  and  President  L.  M.  Hawver 


WHARTON  AND  SCOTT  NEW  DISCIPLES    189 

of  the  Machinists'  district.    The  rest  of  them  when  most  needed 
scattered  like  a  pack  of  coyotes  at  the  dawn  of  day. 

WHARTON  AND  SCOTT  AS  NEW  DISCIPLES 

A  lecture  tour  was  arranged  from  the  Federation  office,  in 
which  J.  J.  Meagher,  a  striking  machinist  from  Clinton,  played 
the  part  of  the  barking  beauty.  There  was  no  one  in  the 
movement  that  knew  the  situation  any  better  than  Meagher, 
and  none  that  could  tell  it  any  better,  were  he  assigned  to 
play  at  a  boilermakers'  stag,  or  before  the  spot-lights  of  an 
opera  house  audience.  Mr.  Meagher  could  champion  the 
cause  of  the  men  on  strike  and  its  effect  in  the  future  upon 
the  organized  labor  movement  with  the  same  skill  and  sledge- 
hammer emotions  that  Mr.  M.  F.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  did 
before  the  Machinists'  Convention  in  Davenport. 

The  difference  between  Mr.  Meagher  and  Mr.  Ryan  was 
that  Meagher  played  his  part  after  the  strike,  and  Ryan 
before.  So  that  you  will  understand  something  was  accom- 
plished in  face  of  all  this  organized  opposition,  and  that  such 
accomplishments  met  with  the  favorable  mention  of  men  like 
A.  O.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Federation  of  Federations, 
I  shall  place  Mr.  Wharton  on  the  stand : 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 
DISTRICT   NO.  5 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  Feb.  24,  1913. 
ME.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 
Clinton,   111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  22nd  inst., 
will  say  that  any  arrangements  made  between  yourself  and  Brother 
Behrens  in  regard  to  distributing  the  strike  news  to  the  men  and  the 
public  that  will  be  an  improvement  over  the  manner  in  which  the  infor- 
mation has  been  going  out,  will  most  certainly  be  acceptable  to  the 
undersigned.  I  want  to  see  things  done  in  a  manner  that  will  get  the 
best  results  for  our  people,  and  at  the  least  possible  cost. 

I  have  read  your  letter  carefully,  Carl,  and  want  to  say  that  I 
have  no  fight  to  make  against  the  active  men  in  the  labor  movement; 
we  need  fighters — good,  clean-cut,  fearless  men — men  who  will  go  to 
the  front  and  do  things.  No  movement  in  the  world  needs  such  men 
more  than  the  labor  movement.  I  know  something  of  the  conditions 


190  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

that  lead  up  to  the  present  strained  relations  between  certain  people. 
But  the  one  thing  I  have  always  tried  to  keep  down  is  the  fighting  among 
ourselves,  before  the  public.  We  are  always  going  to  have  our  differ- 
ence. It  is  inherent  and  particularly  so  in  the  labor  movement.  But 
at  heart  I  presume  all  honest  trades  unionists  are  striving  in  their  own 
way  to  bring  about  the  desired  conditions.  I  don't  like  the  way  some 
of  them  go  about  it,  and  I  don't  hesitate  to  tell  them  so  personally,  and 
will  not  hesitate  to  try  and  put  men  in  office  whom  I  believe  are  best 
fitted  to  carry  on  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged. 

But  we  want  to  win  these  strikes.  We  can't  do  it  by  talking  about 
what  ought  to  be  done.  I  don't  like  the  way  things  have  went  on,  and 
there  is  going  to  be  a  change  for  the  better  or  I  will  refuse  to  be  a  party 
to  the  manner  of  proceeding — at  least  to  the  extent  of  resigning  from 
the  Railroad  Department  and  then  going  about  doing  something  that 
will  force  the  luke-warm  fellows  to  do  the  right  thing.  I  am  of  the  opin- 
ion that  I  can  do  more  as  a  man  in  the  rank  and  file  than  as  an  officer. 
Unless  I  have  the  support  of  the  men  in  charge  of  their  respective  organi- 
zation, I  am  not  the  "FATHER"  of  the  federated  movement,  but  have 
been  one  of  the  men  who  has  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  its  development 
to  its  present  stage,  and  don't  propose  to  see  it  killed  in  its  infancy. 

These  strikes  can  be  won,  and  it  is  up  to  all  of  us  to  do  the  things 
that  are  necessary  to  bring  about  that  result.  I  have  tried  to  do  my 
part  and  am  still  trying  and  will  continue  to  stand  up  for  the  men  who 
"DO  THINGS,"  but  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  that  will  get  the  forces 
of  labor  fighting  one  another.  I  know  that  the  rank  and  file  want 
to  do  what  is  right  and  they  will  do  the  right  thing  if  they  are  reached 
in  the  right  way. 

I  was  called  everything  under  the  sun,  some  months  since,  because 
I  told  the  men  some  plain  truths,  but  the  chicken  is  coming  home  to 
"roost"  and  I  presume  that  some  of  those  who  thoughtlessly  handed  me 
the  unjust  criticism  are  now  realizing  that  they  made  a  big  mistake. 
Had  I  got  the  proper  encouragement  from  the  men  at  that  time,  I  might 
have  been  able  to  accomplish  what  I  had  in  mind.  My  ideas  are  partly 
in  effect  on  the  I.  C.  I  don't  claim  any  honor  for  having  had  anything 
to  do  with  this  fact,  but  I  am  essentially  a  fighter,  not  very  strong  on 
diplomacy,  and  guess  I  have  made  a  lot  of  enemies,  but  that  doesn't 
stop  me  from  doing  or  advocating  what  is  right.  But  back  of  it  all, 
Carl,  we  have  the  lack  of  understanding  on  the  part  of  the  rank  and 
file.  There  is  a  world  of  educational  work  to  do  and  I  want  to  try  and 
get  the  members  started  along  the  right  lines  of  thought.  With  the 
membership  understanding  our  motives,  I  know  that  we  can  make  great 
progress. 

I  received  your  post  cards  and  will  send  them  out. 

Fraternally  yours, 

A.  O.  WHABTON. 

Mr.  Wharton's  testimony  shows  that  he  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  strikes  could  be  won,  but  that  he  recognized  the  fact 
that  some  real  work  had  to  be  done.  He  further  states  in  the 
last  paragraph  of  his  letter  "That  his  ideas  are  partly  in  effect 
in  the  Illinois  Central";  of  course,  this  vindicates  me  up  to 


WHARTON  AND  SCOTT  NEW  DISCIPLES     191 

this  time.  The  fight  we  had  put  up  as  a  federation  met  with 
Mr.  Wharton's  approval;  it  is  possible  that  inasmuch  as  Mr. 
Wharton  states  "partly  in  effect"  that  as  yet  we  had  not  gone 
far  enough,  and  therefore  in  order  to  establish  the  other  por- 
tion of  Mr.  Wharton's  ideas  in  the  handling  of  the  strike  it 
was  necessary  to  continue  more  effectively  along  the  same  lines 
in  which  we  were  started,  and  as  Mr.  Buckalew  had  at  one 
time  stated,  take  the  ideas  out  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers' 
heads  that  they  could  continue  to  confiscate  the  funds  of  the 
"war  babies." 

It  was  more  than  encouraging  to  get  a  letter  like  this  from 
Mr.  Wharton  at  this  time,  because  it  was  some  assurance  that 
we  were  right,  and  the  old  saying  is  that  if  you  are  right  go 
up  against  anything,  from  constitutional  fences  to  the  gen- 
tleman in  shoulder  straps.  This  was  our  policy. 

It  will  be  well  to  remember  that  Mr.  Wharton  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Railway  Department  and  knew  that  I  stood  ex- 
pelled as  Secretary  of  the  Machinists'  district ;  knew  that  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  had  issued  an  injunction  against  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  and  that  Jack  Buckalew  was  writing  his  resig- 
nation with  tears  in  his  eyes.  He  knew  that  we  had  put 
McCreery,  President  of  the  Federation,  on  the  shelf  in  Padu- 
cah.  He  knew  that  we  had  informed  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
what  they  were  doing  on  the  systems.  And  knew  that  John- 
jston  and  Conlon  in  Washington  were  broken-hearted  and  nerv- 
ous wrecks  over  having  their  dog  shaken  up,  and  that  the 
situation  went  from  bad  to  worse  for  them,  after  they  discon- 
nected the  tail  at  Clinton.  And  he  also  knew  that  George  Pres- 
ton at  Washington  had  already  arranged  to  write  the  history 
of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes,  under  the 
caption,  "Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,' 
which  was  later  published  in  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  1915. 
And  last,  but  not  least,  he  appreciated  the  fact  that  it  was 
necessary  to  take  the  kid  gloves  off  in  going  after  all  these 
gentlemen,  and  congratulated  me  for  doing  this.  Therefore, 
up  to  this  time,  regardless  of  what  you  have  read,  I  have  a 


192  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

decision  of  "not  guilty"  from  Mr.  Wharton  insofar  as  laying 
down  on  the  job  and  hiding  from  the  shoulder  straps. 

I  also  wish  to  introduce  you  to  Mr.  John  Scott,  Secretary 
of  the  Railway  Department,  who  came  in  on  the  stand  with 
his  testimony  about  one  month  after  Mr.  Wharton's  appear- 
ance. Mr.  Scott  was  Secretary  of  the  Harriman  Lines  Federa- 
tion until  the  convention  in  April,  1912,  at  St.  Louis,  when 
he  was  elected  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment. Mr.  Scott  makes  the  following  testimony : 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  March  21,  1913. 
MR.  C.  E.  PERSON, 

Box  No.  32,  Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Yes,  I  desire  to  thank  you  for  the  envelopes 
which  I  received  all  right.  I  thought  I  had  mentioned  them  in  my  letter. 
I  have  also  written  to  Ceilings  in  Oakland  to  know  if  he  received  them. 
I  also  received  the  consignment  of  stickers  and  distributed  them  to  27 
other  points  not  included  on  your  mailing  list.  I  guess  the  country  will 
be  pretty  well  plastered  and  should  have  a  telling  effect  on  the  situation. 

You  gave  Buck  a  heavy  jolt,  and  I  consider  it  was  an  able  retort  to 
the  underhand  methods  he  had  used  in  seeking  to  discredit  you  thru  the 
Journal,  and  I  consider  that  after  the  matter  has  been  given  an  airing 
from  both  sides,  your  position  will  be  fully  justified.  This,  I  take,  is  the 
view  now  taken  by  Brother  Johnston,  who  was  made  acquainted  with 
some  few  things  I  understand,  when  here  in  St.  Louis,  and  I  casually 
overheard  him  say  that  there  were  circumstances  he  had  been  made  aware 
of  which  materially  altered  the  case. 

Well,  Carl,  I  appreciate  much  your  kind  invitation  to  visit  the 
"sticks"  for  a  day.  The  expression  is  a  new  one  on  me,  as  I  am  not  yet 
acquainted  with  the  "sticks"  part  of  it,  but,  however,  I  will  be  pleased 
to  take  a  run  down  some  time  after  I  get  matters  somewhat  settled. 

I  took  up  the  matter  giving  publicity  to  the  strike  bulletins,  thru  the 
Federationist  and  other  papers  within  the  control  of  the  A.  F.  of  L., 
and  have  just  heard  from  the  Secretary  that  President  Gompers  has 
been  sick  for  the  past  three  weeks  and  is  just  now  able  to  be  around,  and 
this  matter  will  be  brought  to  his  special  attention. 

I  did  not  receive  many  reports  from  the  Harriman  Lines  this  week. 
I  presume  you  get  the  reports  from  Portland,  Oakland,  Los  Angeles  and 
Ogden.  They  are  quite  lenghy  and  I  did  not  take  the  time  to  copy  them 
before  sending  to  the  Liberator. 

I  have  taken  up  the  matter  with  the  International  President  as  to 
securing  a  list  of  strike  benefits  that  are  being  sent  to  members  at 
various  points  on  the  Harriman  Lines  which  has  been  dead  ones  for  some 
time,  insofar  as  not  sending  in  any  reports.  It  is  my  intention  to  take 
this  matter  up  with  these  people  and  see  if  some  results  can  be  had. 
I  believe  that  the  situation  justifies  better  that  we  have  one  good  man  on 
the  job  with  sufficient  benefits  to  live  on  and  look  after  the  interests  of 
the  strike,  than  a  dozen  non-active  members  sharing  an  equal  div.  of 
the  money. 


WHARTON  AND  SCOTT  NEW  DISCIPLES    193 

Well,  I  guess  I  will  have  to  ring  off  for  the  present.  With  kindest 
regards  and  well  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

JOHN  SCOTT, 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

Mr.  Scott  as  Secretary  of  the  Railway  Department  seemed 
to  rather  appreciate  one  of  the  jolts  in  the  Strike  Bulletin. 
It  was  one  that  advised  Jack  Buckalew  to  watch  his  step,  for 
as  he  was  not  a  federationist,  and  not  willing  to  fight  the  strike 
in  compliance  with  federated  law,  he  would  have  to  stand  the 
consequences  and  face  the  music.  As  Scott  states,  Bucka- 
lew had  been  playing  the  game  underhandedly.  His  trip  to 
Washington  and  Paducah  will  substantiate  this.  Further,  Mr. 
Scott  even  thinks  so  much  of  the  Strike  Bulletin,  with  its  al- 
ready stormy  career,  that  he  is  going  to  have  Mr.  Gompers 
of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  advertise  it  as  a  paper  that  should  be  read 
by  the  membership  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  and 
this  after  six  or  seven  International  Presidents,  affiliated  with 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  had  issued  injunctions 
against  the  paper,  warning  its  membership  that  it  was  danger- 
ous for  them  to  read  and  they  were  taking  chances  on  going  to 
jail  because  of  its  existence.  Mr.  John  Scott,  who  had  been 
on  strike  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.,  knew  what  the  game  was 
and  knew  the  necessity  of  someone  swinging  a  sword  in  the 
face  of  the  polished  shoulder  straps  that  were  not  doing  any- 
thing, and  hence  Mr.  Scott's  testimony. 

Mr.  Scott  again  came  in  with  a  letter  which  speaks  for 
itself  and  indicates  that  this  paper,  which  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  served  an  injunction  on,  is  serving  a  useful  purpose  in 
the  interest  of  the  strike.  Mr.  Scott  further  states : 

April  11,  1913. 
MR.  C.  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  take  this  opportunity  to  express  my  high 
appreciation  of  the  able  and  vigorous  effort  you  are  putting  forth  in 
the  valiant  struggle  that  is  being  waged  for  right  and  justice  at  the 
hands  of  the  arrogant  railroad  officials. 

Nothing  in  my  mind  can  be  more  effective  in  reaching  the  vulnerable 


194  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

vitals  of  these  blood-sucking  corporations  than  by  awakening  the  public  to 
the  damnable  outrages  that  are  being  perpetrated  upon  them,  day  after 
day  and  month  after  month,  in  order  to  satiate  the  unquenchable  lust 
for  greed. 

The  officials  of  the  railway  department,  the  inestimable  good  that 
will  result  from  the  wide  circulation  of  the  "graveyard  edition"  of  the 
Bulletin,  and  are  desirous  to  co-operate  in  any  way  possible  that  will 
insure  its  unbounded  success,  with  the  approval  of  President  Wharton, 
who  is  heart  and  soul  with  you  in  the  forward  movement  and  a  strong 
advocate  of  effective  measures  when  occasion  demands;  I  am  placing 
an  order  with  you  for  one  thousand  copies  of  the  "graveyard  edition," 
which  the  department  will  distribute  to  the  best  advantage  among  the 
business  interests  in  St.  Louis,  believing  that  in  no  way  can  we  better 
serve  the  best  interests  of  men  who  are  daily  fighting  for  their  rights 
than  appeal  to  those  that  are  daily  courting  death  and  disaster  and 
sooner  or  later  will  be  numbered  with  the  victims  who  have  gone  before. 

It  is  my  belief  that  the  graveyard  edition  will  create  a  new  epoch 
in  the  history  of  our  strike  and  arouse  a  nation-wide  indignation  when 
confronted  with  the  indisputable  proof  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  human 
lives  and  limb  that  is  daily  being  exacted  to  maintain  their  present-policy. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  members  will  do  everything  possible  in 
securing  subscriptions  for  this  valuable  paper  to  the  end  that  it  will 
reach  every  home  in  the  city,  town  and  hamlet.  If  the  railway  depart- 
ment are  in  a  position  to  do  so,  several  thousand  additional  copies  will  be 
procured  for  distribution  at  live  points  along  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines.  The  desire  being  to  enlighten  the  public  to  the  fullest 
extent  with  the  actual  conditions  as  they  now  exist.  I  take  it  that  our 
own  members  do  not  require  education  along  these  lines. 

Broher  Wharton  suggested  that  a  circular  letter  be  issued  to  all 
important  lodges  of  all  organizations,  that  which  touch  the  strike  zone 
or  whom  we  think  would  be  interested,  asking  them  to  contribute  to  the 
circulation  and  the  success  of  the  paper  by  the  purchase  of  250  copies. 
I  presume  that  you  have  already  received  a  number  of  applications  from 
such  places  and  it  would  be  unwise  to  further  impose  on  them.  But  if 
you  consider  that  the  issuance  of  a  circular  letter  would  in  anywise 
assist  the  department  would  be  more  than  pleased  to  co-operate  to  the 
direction.  Kindly  advise  if  you  would  be  in  a  position  to  print  this 
letter  gratis. 

Trusting  to  hear  from  you  at  your  early  convenience,  and  with 
kindest  regards  and  well  wishes, 

Fraternally  yours, 

JOHN  SCOTT, 
Secretary-Treasurer  Railway  Department. 

It  looks  as  if  the  biggest  men  in  the  movement  had  come  to  • 
the  realization  that  the  strikers  themselves  were  doing  some- 
thing for  themselves,  that  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  had  failed 
to  do  or  couldn't  do.  After  fighting  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
and  driving  them  into  their  holes,  here  were  people  who  knew 
the  situation  and  admitted  that  in  the  face  of  all  the  organ- 


WHARTON  AND  SCOTT  NEW  DISCIPLES    195 

ized  opposition  we  have  been  confronted  with,  we  were  accom- 
plishing more  than  all  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  together  had 
accomplished  since  the  inauguration  of  the  strike.  Then  were 
the  Grand  Lodge  officers  that  fought  us  September,  October, 
November  and  December  of  1912  wrong?  It  looks  like  it,  for 
if  we  were  trying  to  do  something  to  make  the  strike  success- 
ful and  effective,  when  they  couldn't  or  wouldn't  do  it,  they 
should  at  least  have  let  us  alone,  and  then  we  could  have 
accomplished  so  much  more. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment, writes  the  following  letter  on  May  1,  1913,  which  is 
very  interesting,  inasmuch  as  he  also'  threatens  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers.  The  letter  will  best  speak  for  itself  and  reads 
as  follows: 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  1,  1913. 

Friend  Person:  I  have  this  date  written  Johnston  a  good  letter,  in 
which  I  have  asked  that  one  thousand  ($1,000.00)  be  sent  to  you  and 
the  same  amount  to  Brother  J.  D.  Taylor,  on  the  S.  P.,  each  month  from 
the  donations  received  by  the  Grand  Lodge.  I  believe  he  will  see  the 
justice  of  our  claim,  and  if  he  does  not,  I  shall  feel  at  liberty  to  advise 
every  lodge  in  district  five,  Mo.  Pacific,  to  split  all  donations  between 
you  and  Brother  Taylor.  I  MEAN  BUSINESS.  I  am  asking  that  this 
one  thousand  dollars  be  sent  with  the  understanding  that  it  be  used  in 
the  interest  of  the  strike,  and  this  don't  mean  that  it  shall  be  confined 
to  members  of  the  I.  A.  of  M. 

Trusting  that  this  will  be  satisfactory,  I  am, 

With  best  wishes, 

A.  O.  WHARTON-, 
President  R.  E.  D. 

Mr.  Wharton  was  now  a  federationist  (?)  and  had  decided 
that  if  it  were  necessary  to  violate  the  constitution  he  would  do 
so  in  the  interests  of  the  strike.  Mr.  Wharton  wanted  the 
strike  funds  used  in  the  best  interests  of  the  strike,  where 
results  could  be  attained  from  the  money  invested,  and  had 
now  decided  that  he  would  do  what  I  started  in  to  do  in  July, 
1912,  that  is,  fight  the  Grand  Lodge  if  necessary.  I  may 
state  that  I  was  suspended  as  District  Secretary  of  the  Machin- 
ists for  attempting  to  persuade  local  lodges  to  send  their 
money  direct  to  the  district,  and  now  Mr.  Wharton,  with  full 


196  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

knowledge  that  it  was  a  violation  of  the  constitution,  has  de- 
cided to  do  the  same.  He  was  going  to  instruct  or  persuade 
the  lodges  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  System  to  send  their  dona- 
tions to  the  Machinist  districts  on  strike.  After  I  decided  that 
such  was  necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  strike  alive,  I  found 
that  I  had  done  so  in  face  of  all  and  any  constitutional  fences 
and  organized  opposition.  One  would  naturally  assume  that 
Mr.  Wharton  would  do  the  same  and  that  he  would  declare 
war  on  Washington  and  President  Johnston  at  this  particular 
time. 

WHAETON  DECLARES  WAR  ON  JOHNSTON 

On  May  5,  1912,  a  small  convention  of  Illinois  Central 
strikers  took  place  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  the  entire  strike 
situation  was  carefully  looked  over.  After  this  conference, 
the  following  petition  was  drafted  and  forwarded  to  the  Inter- 
national Presidents  of  all  organizations,  and  reads  as  follows : 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.,  5-15-13. 

To  the  International  Presidents,  Comprising  the  Organizations  Now  on 
Strike  on  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines — Greeting. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  We,  the  undersigned,  after  having  almost 
nineteen  months  of  strike  experience  on  the  above  mentioned  lines,  have 
learned  by  said  experience  that  concentration  of  effort  is  and  has  been 
lacking  ever  since  the  inception  of  our  strike. 

We  have  learned  that  where  we  have  established  federation  that  we 
have  obtained  the  best  results,  viz.:  Clinton,  111.,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  we  of  opposition,  offered  by  those  who  believed  a  strike  could 
be  successfully  handled  by  directing  same  from  nine  different  angles. 

We  hereby  petition  the  International  Association  of  Machinists  for 
the  amount  of  ($2,000)  two  thousand  dollars  per  month,  the  same  to  be 
equally  divided  between  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  Federa- 
tion. Other  organizations  involved  in  strike  to  pay  an  equal  amount 
pro  rata  according  to  the  number  of  men  who  went  on  strike  in  Sep- 
tember, 1911. 

Trusting  this  will  meet  with  your  favorable  consideration,  we  remain, 

Fraternally  yours, 
L.  M.    HAWVER,  JR.,  President. 
J.  J.  MEAGHER,  Machinist. 
S.  B.  GLENN,  Machinist. 

P.  J.  JENSEN,  Advisory  Board  District  No.  21. 
C.  J.  CTJNDIFF,  Boilermakers. 
Jos.  J.  THOMAS,  Carmen. 
H.  J.  MOLLOY,  Business  Agt.,  Dist.  21, 1.  A.  of  M. 


WHARTON  DECLARES  WAR  ON  JOHNSTON       197 

There  is  a  particular  gentleman  on  this  petition  committee 
that  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to,  Business  Agent  H.  J. 
Molloy.  He  is  the  gentleman  who  came  to  Clinton  in  July, 
1912,  with  Buckalew  and  the  district  in  Buckalew's  little 
satchel,  looking  for  someone  to  liven  it  up,  and  when  the  storm 
came  up,  Mr.  Molloy  went  along  with  President  Johnston  in- 
stead of  getting  into  the  fight;  however,  you  will  note  that 
again  he  has  signed  a  federated  petition.  He  will  appear 
again  in  the  near  future. 

This  Springfield  conference  was  another  effort  to  drive 
the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  together  in  the  interest  of  the 
strike.  However,  the  effort  was  unsuccessful,  as  there  was  no 
co-operation  that  arrived  in  the  interest  of  the  strike  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents.  This  petition  further  states  that 
the  results  they  are  getting  at  this  time  they  are  getting 
through  the  Federation  at  Clinton — the  very  Federation  the 
Grand  Lodge  Presidents  had  made  an  effort  to  put  out  of 
commission. 

The  only  answer  to  the  above  petition  is  the  following 
letter  from  President  A.  O.  Wharton  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment, which  is  addressed  to  Mr.  J.  J.  Meagher,  who  was  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  petition  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  reads 
as  follows: 


INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS, 
DISTRICT  NO.  5 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  16,  1913. 
MR.  J.  J.  MEAGHER, 

Box  D,  Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  This  is  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  favor 
dated  the  15th  inst.,  in  which  you  enclose  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Inter- 
national Presidents  of  the  organizations  involved  in  the  strike  on  the 
Harriman  Line  and  I.  C.  I  presume  you  are  aware  of  the  action  I  took 
in  regard  to  the  Machinists,  having  taken  the  question  of  financing  the 
strike  up  with  Brother  Johnston,  and  having  received  his  assurance  that 
it  was  the  intention  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  to  send  money  raised  by  donations 
to  the  extent  of  at  least  $1,000  each  to  the  Harriman  and  I.  C.  Lines, 
and  about  the  only  suggestions  that  I  could  make  would  be  for  your 
committee  to  state  that  the  Machinist  organizations  have  agreed  to  send 
the  above  amounts  and  call  upon  the  others  for  a  proportionate  amount. 


198  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  think  that  it  would  have  a  better  effect  and  show  the  other  International 
officers  that  at  least  one  organization  was  willing  to  do  its  part. 

Brother  Person  can  enlighten  you  in  regard  to  this  matter.    Trusting 
that  this  will  be  satisfactory,  I  am,  with  best  wishes, 

Fraternally  yours, 

A.  O.  WHAHTON, 
President  R.  E.  D. 


Mr.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway  Department,  as 
can  be  understood,  fully  approved  of  the  petition  drafted  by 
the  Springfield  conference  of  strikers  and  refers  to  his  letter 
to  me  of  May  1, 1913,  in  which  he  was  going  to  persuade  local 
lodges  to  forward  the  money  direct  to  the  men  on  strike,  and 
as  it  was  now  the  16th  of  the  month  it  was  to  be  expected  that 
the  wires  were  burning  up  between  St.  Louis  and  Washington, 
and  Mr.  Conlon  of  the  Machinists  had  found  that  his  dog  was 
again  being  shaken  up.  Mr.  Wharton,  realizing  the  neces- 
sity of  putting  up  a  fight,  would  not  allow  the  shoulder  straps 
on  President  Johnston  or  the  barks  of  Pete  Conlon's  hound  to 
scare  him,  when,  realizing  as  he  did  the. importance  of  winning 
the  strike  and  the  necessity  of  sacrificing  his  position  and 
membership,  if  necessary,  to  accomplish  this. 

During  the  month  of  March,  1913,  President  Wharton 
had  a  letter  published  in  the  Strike  Bulletin,  requesting  that 
funds  for  the  men  on  strike  be  sent  to  his  office  for  distribu- 
tion. To  make  our  records  complete,  I  am  introducing  the 
following  letter,  which  will  indicate  that  we  stood  ready  at 
any  time  to  turn  the  handling  of  the  strike  over  to  the  Federa- 
tion of  Federations,  the  organization  that  should  have  taken 
full  charge  of  the  handling  of  the  strikes  shortly  after  the 
Federation  was  organized  in  April,  1912,  at  Kansas  City. 
This  letter  reads  as  follows : 

March  30,  1913. 
MH.  A.  O.  WHARTON, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  in  receipt  of  several  inquiries  relative 
to  your  recent  letter  in  the  Bulletin,  where  you  instructed  all  money  to 
be  sent  to  Brother  Scott  for  the  Railroad  Department. 

This  would  cut  off  our  avenue  of  income  if  your  instructions  would 
be  adhered  to,  wouldn't  it? 


WHARTON  DECLARES  WAR  ON  JOHNSTON       199 

JUST  NOW  WE  HAVE  the  movement  in  good  shape  on  the  Cen- 
tral and  we  are  getting  it  concentrated  here;  we  can  now  show  results 
for  the  money  we  have  got,  and  our  efforts  as  .well.  What  I  want  to 
know  is  this:  Is  the  Railway  Department  going  to  take  our  movement 
over?  Willing  to  give  it  to  them  on  stipulated  terms. 

Will  you  take  our  organization  and  carry  it  on,  meet  all  our  obliga- 
tions, pay  the  pickets  that  we  are  paying,  handle  our  slide  exchange, 
route  speakers,  and  keep  the  movement  alive? 

We  have  worked  too  hard  to  see  what  little  we  have  accomplished 
waste  away,  and  if  anyone  is  going  to  take  our  place  they  will  have  to 
get  up  and  do  business  and  give  results,  AND  IF  THEY  WON'T  DO 
THIS,  they  will  have  to  let  us  keep  up  the  fight,  and  let  us  SOLICIT 
FUNDS.  We  won't  do  anything  just  now  that  would  be  a  reaction  to 
our  movement,  FOR  THERE  IS  TOO  MUCH  AT  STAKE,  but  if  the 
Railway  Department  is  in  a  position  to  do  business  and  give  results  and 
will  spend  40  per  cent  of  the  money  on  the  Central,  VERY  WELL. 

Let  us  know  what  the  future  demand  of  the  Department  is.  When 
you  stated  that  all  money  should  be  sent  to  Brother  Scott,  what  was  your 
plan  on  how  the  Illinois  Central  should  be  looked  after? 

If  Collings  of  the  Harriman  Lines  is  soliciting  funds,  and  we  are 
doing  the  same,  and  then  there  is  some  money  coming  in  to  Scott,  are 
we  not  entitled  to  the  40  per  cent  of  the  money  going  to  Scott  if  it  is  to 
send  for  the  interest  of  the  strike?  And  on  this  basis  will  we  get  it? 

Please  tell  me  what  the  plans  are,  and  what  you  want  us  to  do,  and 
what  the  department  will  do  themselves. 

WE  WANT  TO  DO  THE  RIGHT  THING,  and  we  are  going  to 
be  sure  that  we  do  this,  BUT  if  anyone  is  going  to  take  our  place,  they 
WILL  have  to  give  the  movement  the  attention  that  we  are  giving  it, 
and  if  they  won't  we  are  going  to  continue  on  the  JOB  and  solicit  funds 
and  everything  else  in  conjunction  with  it. 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  told  them  that  all  money  for  the  Harriman 
Lines  should  go  to  Brother  Collings,  and  the  Illinois  Central  money  should 
go  to  this  office,  and  now  that  you  have  told  them  that  all  of  it  should  go 
to  Scott  has  confused  matters  some,  and  I  knew  that  it  would  when  I  run 
the  letter. 

A  further  explanation  will  have  to  be  made  in  the  Bulletin.  How- 
ever, I  want  to  hear  from  you.  If  you  people  want  all  the  money,  then 
you  will  have  to  get  up  and  meet  all  the  obligations,  and  do  ALL  THE 
WORK,  and  if  you  want  us  to  meet  any  obligations  YOU  will  have  to 
let  us  solicit  money  to  meet  them  with.  YOU  will  have  to  let  us  go  out 
and  get  it  if  we  can. 

I  hope  that  you  will  see  where  this  will  be  nothing  but  fair.  Just 
now  I  am  paying  a  man  in  Dubuque,  Fulton,  Carbondale,  Jackson,  Miss., 
and  Central  City,  Ky.,  and  going  to  put  a  man  in  Indianapolis  and 
Louisville. 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers,  who  you  want  it  explicitly  understood  are 
doing  the  very  best  they  can,  are  letting  the  movement  die  at  every 
opportunity.  Don't  let  anyone  make  you  believe  anything  different, 
Wharton,  for  they  are  only  flirting  with  you.  Look  over  on  the  Harri- 
man Lines. 

Any  time  that  you  will  show  me  that  they  are  keeping  one  man  or 
more  at  30  places  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  I  will  show  YOU  where  they 
have  let  the  movement  die  at  40  places  over  there.  I  have  done  a  little 


200  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

investigating  lately,  AND  JUST  NOW  I  KNOW  some  few  things,  and 
I  refuse  to  believe  their  "BULL"  but  want  to  see  results. 

Just  now  we  must  know  what  results  the  Railway  Department  is 
going  to  give  us  here  on  the  Central  OR  if  they  are  not  going  to  let  us 
solicit  funds  to  give  results  to  the  movement  ourselves. 

Hoping  to  hear  from  you  soon,  I  am,  yours  for  the  same  old  cause, 

Sincerely  yours, 

CARL  E.  PEBSON. 


The  following  is  the  reply  from  Mr.  A.  0.  Wharton : 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  March  31,  1913. 
MB.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Replying  to  your  favor  dated  the  30th  inst., 
will  say  that  I  also  thought  that  the  letter  sent  out  would  cause  some 
little  misunderstanding.  But  it  would  have  looked  rather  peculiar  to 
send  out  a  letter  accepting  money  now  sent  to  you  and  the  Harriman 
Lines  and  maybe  one  or  more  local  lodges  that  may  be  raising  some 
money. 

Now  I  will  say  just  what  I  had  in  mind.  Any  money  we  could  raise 
I  intended  to  use  what  I  could  to  advantage  out  of  St.  Louis.  This 
would  not  be  a  great  deal,  then,  to  divide  up  the  balance  between  the  I.  C. 
and  Harriman  Lines,  in  a  manner  that  would  get  the  best  results.  I 
didn't  have  in  mind  the  sending  of  money  to  anyone  indiscriminately. 
But  to  get  it  to  the  points  where  it  would  be  used  to  the  best  advantage. 
I  intended  to  get  a  list  from  you  and  also  a  list  of  the  points  where  we 
needed  men,  and  do  all  that  I  could  to  help  keep  men  at  these  points, 
handling  the  money  through  your  office  for  I.  C.  men. 

I  wanted  a  chance  to  get  before  the  lodges  that  are  not  contributing 

a  d cent  to  these  strikes,  and  I  was  also  going  to  try  and  get  a 

system  established  on  the  Harriman  Lines.  I  appreciate  all  you  say, 
and  also  know  something  of  the  conditions,  and  that  is  the  reason  I  was 
trying  to  get  funds,  so  that  we  could  have  something  to  offer  to  the 
good  men.  I  don't  want  to  interfere  with  the  work  you  are  doing  in 
this  strike;  IT  SUITS  ME,  and  you  have  got  it  started  and  are  in  touch 
with  the  situation  better  than  it  would  be  possible  for  anyone  else  to  be 
who  was  trying  to  handle  the  work  in  connection  with  the  Department. 
Also,  I  AM  STRONGLY  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  LOCAL  ACTIVE  MEN 
HANDLING  THE  STRIKE.  I  have  always  believed  that  the  men 
directly  interested  would  get  better  results.  The  only  thing  the  G.  L. 
should  do  is  to  see  that  the  money  was  properly  accounted  for.  ANY 
MONEY  THE  DEPARTMENT  RAISES  WILL  BE  USED  IN  THE 
INTEREST  OF  THE  STRIKE  AS  A  WHOLE,  AND  THE  I.  C. 
WILL  GET  ALL  THAT  IS  COMING  TO  IT,  IN  PROPORTION  TO 
RESULTS  ACCOMPLISHED,  NOT  MEN  SIMPLY  DRAWING 
BENEFIT.  I  DON'T  WANT  ANY  MONEY  YOU  ARE  GETTING 
NOW,  or  can  get,  .but  want  to  get  more  than  we  have  been  getting. 

Trusting  that  will  prove  satisfactory,  I  am,  with  best  wishes, 

Fraternally  yours, 

A.  O.  WHARTON. 


WHARTON  DECLARES  WAR  ON  JOHNSTON       201 

Mr.  Wharton's  letter  substantiates  the  fact  that  we  were 
getting  results  and  had  built  up  an  organization  that  the 
Railway  Department  could  take  over  at  any  time  they  would 
agree  to  keep  it  alive  in  accordance  with  federate  law. 

Mr.  Wharton  had  studied  the  situation  since  his  inaugura- 
tion as  President  of  the  Railway  Department.  He  was  fully 
aware  of  all  that  had  taken  place.  He  knew  that  my  motto 
was,  "Handle  the  strike  as  a  federation  and  fight  everyone 
and  everybody  that  opposes  this  principle  of  action,  whether 
they  come  with  titles  from  Washington  or  Kansas  City,  appear 
in  dress  suits  or  in  rags."  He  knew  that  I  was  excommunicated 
by  the  "Mother  Church"  in  Washington  and  that  I  stood  out 
as  bold  and  cruel  as  the  very  system  itself  that  had  forced 
this  social  drama  into  existence.  He  was  fully  aware  of  what 
my  position  had  been  in  the  past  and  what  it  would  be  in  the 
future,  that  as  far  as  I  was  concerned  there  would  be  no  com- 
promise with  the  railroad  companies  or  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
of  the  principle  for  which  we  had  gone  on  strike.  In  view  of 
all  these  apparent  and  demonstrated  facts,  Mr.  Wharton 
comes  as  President  of  the  Railway  Department  and  states  that 
I  was  right.  After  he  has  had  the  opportunity  to  review  the 
entire  situation,  he  renders  me  this  favorable  decision.  Of 
course,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  know  that  the  supreme  court  that 
holds  jurisdiction  over  all  those  organizations  that  are  affil- 
iated with  the  Railway  Department  had  been  broad-minded 
and  fair-minded  enough  to  render  this  decision  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  so  many  of  his  organizations  and  the  lower  courts 
in  his  jurisdiction  had  decided  differently. 

Mr.  Wharton,  however,  reversed  the  decision  of  all  of  them. 
From  now  on  he  was  going  to  stand  with  me,  and,  like  Jack 
Buckalew  and  his  war  cabinet  in  the  days  of  nineteen  twelve, 
he  was  also  going  to  start  a  resurrection  for  the  money  that 
the  strikers  had  coming  to  them  and  needed  in  order  to  make 
the  strike  effective.  Mr.  Wharton  was  going  to  and  did 
threaten  Mr.  Johnston  of  Washington  by  serving  notice  on  him 
to  play  ball  and  play  ball  with  Carl  Person  of  Clinton.  If  Mr. 


202  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Johnston  did  not,  Mr.  Wharton  would  raise  more  smoke  out 
of  St.  Louis  in  a  few  days  than  Jack  Buckalew  did  with  his 
entire  war  cabinet  in  the  palmiest  days  of  nineteen  hundred  and 
twelve. 

Mr.  Wharton  had  now  come  forth,  like  a  "Billy  Sunday" 
convert,  from  the  sinful  crowd  of  reaction,  and  here,  now,  then 
and  there,  declared  himself  to  devote  his  time  and  effort  in 
converting1  his  comrades  who  were  as  yet  blind  to  the  vision 
that  had  come  to  him  in  his  dreams.  He  was  going  into  the 
cushioned  courts  of  his  colleagues  to  pray  and  persuade  them 
to  open  their  hearts  and  come  forth  that  they  also  might  be 
forgiven  for  their  sinful  acts  of  confiscating  the  property  of 
the  poor  brethren  in  the  trenches.  If  he  could  not  by  prayer, 
persuasion  or  other  mediums  of  intellectuality  induce  them  to 
lead  a  better  and  cleaner  life  in  the  future,  Sister  Wharton 
was  going  after  them  in  good  old-fashioned  style,  as  Jack 
Buckalew,  Molloy  and  McCreery  had  attempted  to  do. 

There  was  nothing  in  Wharton's  declaration  that  would 
indicate  that  his  campaign  would  be  hampered  or  fail  to  be 
executed  if  upon  his  j  ourney  he  should  by  misfortune  encounter 
the  "street  walkers"  that  picked  the  Sisters  McCreery  and  Jack 
Buckalew  for  appropriate  selections  for  the  "show  window." 
No,  sir.  Wharton  had  now  parted  with  the  sinful  world  and 
was  going  to  devote  his  time  in  the  future  as  a  preacher  for 
the  common  cause.  He  started  out  to  do  so,  and  as  an  intro- 
duction became  the  author  of  several  pamphlets  that  were 
given  wide  circulation,  one  of  which  was  distributed  under  the 
caption,  "Mr.  Business  Man,"  in  which  he  sets  forth  the  rea- 
sons and  the  necessity  for  this  social  drama's  being  played  by 
the  common  people,  and  introduces  himself  as  being  a  staunch 
supporter  of  every  plank  in  their  platform.  In  some  of  his 
many  other  pamphlets  he  predicted  that  the  labor  movement 
would  be  wrecked  and  ruined  and  chewed  up  by  the  mad  and 
restless  swing  of  mother  earth,  like  the  gay,  old-fashioned 
cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  if  his  associates  in  the  Railway 
Department,  who  were  drunk  with  power,  would  not  stop  and 


WHARTON  DECLARES  WAR  ON  JOHNSTON       203 

take  cognizance  of  the  moving  picture  of  this  social  crisis 
which  was  placed  on  exhibition  on  the  cloud-hung  curtains 
of  time. 

Mr.  Wharton's  letter  is  self-explanatory.  He  wanted  the 
money  used  in  the  best  interest  of  the  strike.  He  had  now  rec- 
ognized the  fact  that  trying  to  handle  a  strike  effectively  by 
paying  boilermakers'  dollars  to  a  boilermaker,  and  a  machin- 
ist's dollar  to  a  machinist,  is  but  a  game  of  child's  play.  This 
might  be  all  right  in  a  penny  ante  game,  but  not  in  a  strike. 
That  is,  in  reality,  nothing  but  WAR,  and  a  war  where  there 
is  no  justice  but  the  justice  that  can  be  established  by  force — 
where  no  one  can  drink  from  the  victor's  cup  but  those  who 
march  under  the  Roman  banner  of  "Might  makes  right." 

Needless  to  mention,  that  the  same  soft  lights  that  led  Mr. 
McCreery  and  Mr.  Buckalew  into  the  promised  land,  also  led 
Mr.  Wharton  astray.  Soon  there  wasn't  any  more  steam  or 
decisiveness  in  Mr.  Wharton's  declaration  of  war  than  there 
was  in  an  extemporaneous  opening  oration  by  Jack  Buckalew 
to  his  war  cabinet  in  the  days  absorbed  by  time.  The  Illinois 
Central  Federation  never  got  that  one  thousand  per  month  out 
of  the  "war  babies"  funds  at  Washington  that  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  confiscating.  And  Mr.  Wharton  never  carried 
out  his  threats  to  direct  Machinists'  District  5  on  the  Missouri 
Pacific  system  to  forward  their  assessment  money  direct  to  the 
Federation.  Had  he  done  so,  he  would  have  laid  himself  liable 
to  expulsion  from  the  mother  church  at  Washington,  for  that 
would  be  in  violation  of  Article  3,  Section  7,  subordinate  lodge 
constitution,  I.  A.  of  M.  When  Johnston  called  his  attention 
to  this  and  pointed  to  the  terminated  career  of  Jack  Buckalew 
as  the  penalty  for  having  an  idea,  and  the  audacity  of  such 
a  nice  girl  as  Sister  Wharton  flirting  with  an  excommunicated 
member  of  the  mother  church,  who  resided  in  the  corn-belt, 
way  outside  of  civilization ;  who  didn't  even  have  a  dress  suit 
for  the  occasion,  should  it  be  necessary  to  take  a  trip  to  "Park 
Row"  for  advice  upon  how  to  further  proceed  with  the  "un- 
pleasantness." 


204  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Wharton  was  like  the  lad  who,  with  his  chums,  had 
decided  to  spend  the  afternoon  down  on  the  river  swimming, 
and  declared  that  if  his  mother  wouldn't  let  him  go,  that  he 
was  going  anyway.  When  he  told  his  mother  that  he  and  the 
boys  were  going  down  the  river,  mother  said,  "Nothing  doing, 
little  Willie,"  and  Willie  didn't  go.  Willie  should  have  known 
his  mother's  attitude  and  his  own  weakness  better  before  he 
promised  the  boys  to  go  swimming,  for  he  had  lived  with  both 
himself  and  his  mother  long  enough  to  know  what  he  could 
and  couldn't  do.  So,  too,  Wharton  should  have  known  that  he 
couldn't  do  anything  that  didn't  meet  with  the  approval  of 
President  Johnston  of  the  Machinists,  and  further,  that  he 
did  not  have  sand  enough  to  go  out  and  stand  by  his  own  con- 
victions, but  had  to  remain  in  the  play-yards  near  home,  where 
Mother  Johnston's  apron  strings  would  ever  serve  as  his 
protection. 

There  is  one  thing  that  President  Johnston  can  be  admired 
for,  and  that  is  his  ability  to  discipline  the  boys  and  make 
them  go  along  with  him,  even  taking  one  of  his  oldest  scholars, 
like  Mr.  Wharton,  and  slip  the  shades  over  the  visions  that  it 
was  his  desire  to  materialize,  blind  him  to  everything  that  was 
his  own,  then  turn  him  loose  and  still  control  him  with  greater 
skill  than  the  celebrated  hypnotic  operator,  Dr.  Flint,  con- 
trolled his  subjects  in  his  performances  upon  the  American 
stage.  Mr.  Wharton,  like  the  rest  of  his  associates,  received 
a  post  of  honor  from  Mr.  Johnston  which  was  the  most  dis- 
tinguished and  important  ambassadorship  of  the  entire  cabinet 
— that  of  attorney-general  for  the  prosecution  in  the  famous 
trial  that  took  place  in  the  secret  chambers  at  the  Kansas  City 
convention  in  1916,  when  President  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths 
was  charged  with  high  treason  for  bringing  to  the  surface  some 
of  the  methods  employed  by  the  "chiefs"  in  "trimming  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikers." 

Wharton  could  only  take  one  position  and  maintain  his 
respectability  after  he  had  admitted  that  I  was  playing  the 
only  game  that  was  worth  while — the  game  in  compliance 


GENERAL  STRIKE  AGITATION  205 

with  federation — and  that  was  to  stand  by  his  decision,  carry 
out  his  threats  against  Johnston  or  any  other  President  and 
organization  that  it  was  necessary  to  whip  into  line.  He  might 
have  stood  with  me  when  I  practically  stood  alone  against  the 
organized  effort  of  five  or  six  International  organizations,  as 
well  as  the  spineless  element  that  I  had  on  my  hands  that  was 
wished  into  the  movement  when  it  was  organized  in  Memphis 
in  May,  1911.  Imagine  standing  up  against  this  aggrega- 
tion, with  their  money  and  hundreds  of  slippery,  smiling, 
gum-shoe  operators  who  barked  at  you  from  everywhere  and 
surrounded  you  as  a  pack  of  hungry  mountain  wolves  sur- 
round a  lonely  village  pup.  Then  comes  Mr.  Wharton  and 
admits  that  he  has  observed  the  situation,  and  threatens  the 
pack  to  stand  back  in  their  mad  rush,  or  else  he  (Wharton) 
would  render  assistance. 

After  he  found  out  that  the  game  was  not  as  easy  as  it 
appeared  to  be  and  less  popular,  he,  too,  picked  up  his  ammu- 
nition and  ran  for  shelter  like  a  chicken  in  the  event  of  an 
approaching  cyclone.  And  with  such  people  are  placed  the 
dependence  of  the  many  thousands  who  march  in  the  lines 
of  the  common  cause.  Upon  their  shoulders  are  placed  the 
responsibility  of  leadership  and  the  execution  of  such  projects 
that  have  for  their  purpose  the  emancipation  of  the  masses. 

GENERAL  STRIKE  AGITATION 

In  June,  1913,  the  agitation  for  a  general  strike  was 
revived  again.  The  weekly  correspondents  for  the  Strike 
Bulletin  made  the  general  strike  subject  a  live  issue,  and  at 
many  of  the  points  on  the  struck  roads  it  had  become  the  de- 
sire of  the  men  to  have  another  general  strike  vote  taken. 
On  June  £0,  1913,  the  Federation  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  wrote  a 
letter  to  Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment, which  was  signed  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Nortney  as  President 
and  John  Wray  as  Secretary  for  the  Federation.  The  first 
paragraph  of  the  letter  read  as  follows : 


206  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We,  the  members  of  the  I.  C.  Local  Federation,  have  decided  that 
although  we  failed  to  get  the  necessary  percentage  for  a  strike  vote  last 
year,  the  time  has  arrived  when  we  should  try  it  again.  We  have  now 
been  on  strike  for  20  months,  and  at  this  time  fully  convinced  that 
another  effort  should  be  made  to  get  a  general  strike  vote. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  in  answering  the  Memphis  appeal 
for  a  general  strike  movement  in  a  letter  dated  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
July  2,  1913,  did  not  think  that  this  was  the  appropriate 
time  for  such  project;  that  the  rank  and  file  were  not  educated 
to  the  high  standard  necessary  for  such  large  undertaking. 

The  failure  of  the  general  strike  to  carry  in  1912  was 
placed  by  Mr.  Wharton  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  rank  and 
file.  The  poor  down-trodden,  overloaded  masses,  upon  their 
shoulders  are  placed  all  the  wrecks  and  ruins  of  the  ages. 
Anyone  who  had  studied  the  situation  knew  that  the  general 
strike  vote  in  1912  was  defeated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  Presi- 
dents and  their  staff  of  gum-shoe  operators.  But  now  Mr. 
Wharton  is  hanging  its  corpse  upon  the  backs  of  the  common 
soldiers,  that  they  may  ever  point  to  it  as  a  monument  of 
ignorance,  when  the  fact  of  it  is  that  this  wreck  should  have 
been  nailed  to  the  altars  of  the  high  courts  of  labor,  as  a  monu- 
ment of  deceit,  fraud  and  corruption. 

Mr.  Wharton's  letter  did  not  satisfy  the  men  in  Memphis 
and  in  a  letter  to  the  Federation  they  expressed  a  desire  that 
something  be  started  along  the  line  of  a  general  strike  move- 
ment. The  Federation  issued  a  letter  to  all  points  on  strike, 
and  asked  them  if  it  was  their  desire  that  a  campaign  for  a 
general  strike  should  be  inaugurated,  in  which  all  replies  were 
in  favor  of  such  an  undertaking.  In  order  to  secure  an  expres- 
sion from  the  locals  affiliated  with  the  Railway  Departments, 
a  circular  letter  was  forwarded  to  all  local  lodges  of  all  Inter- 
national organizations  affiliated  with  the  Railway  Department, 
asking  them  to  give  us  their  opinion  as  to  the  advisability  of 
a  general  strike  vote  being  taken.  Being  fully  mindful  of 
the  fact  that  although  the  desired  results  would  not  be  accom- 
plished, it  would  serve  as  a  stimulant  of  agitation  for  the  time 
being,  for,  in  strikes,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  interest,  the 


GENERAL  STRIKE  AGITATION  207 

subject  matter  must  be  held  up  in  front  of  those  whom  you 
wish  to  interest  in  one  form  or  another.  The  failure  to  com- 
ply with  this  would  have  the  same  results  to  the  movement  as 
a  circus  without  its  barkers,  as  a  department  store  without  its 
display  windows.  There  must  be  something  there  attractive 
enough  to  demand  attention — something  for  people  to  either 
admire  or  ridicule — and  therefore  the  general  strike  issue 
would  serve  this  purpose  at  this  time,  and  it  served  it  well. 

Some  five  thousand  circular  letters  were  sent  out  asking 
for  the  opinions  of  each  particular  lodge  relative  to  the  gen- 
eral strike,  and  in  a  week  we  had  five  thousand  local  lodges 
talking  about  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike 
and  the  general  strike  issue.  The  question  was  debated  by  advo- 
cates on  both  sides  of  the  issue,  in  the  different  locals,  and  the 
more  it  was  talked  about,  for  or  against,  the  better  it  served  the 
purpose  of  keeping  up  the  interest,  and  brought  information 
on  the  subject  to  those  who  had  thought  that  the  strike  was 
a  dead  issue.  Long-haired  philosophers  could  be  seen  and 
heard  intruding  upon  the  fine  art  of  Webster  as  they  projected 
their  arms  into  the  atmosphere  that  was  clouded  from  the 
fumes  and  gases  that  burned  in  the  "Bull  Durham"  repositories 
as  they  hung  from  the  lips  of  the  comrades  near.  There  was 
no  Grand  Lodge  endorsement  on  our  circular,  and  therefore 
all  this  commotion  and  motions  to  table,  lay  over  until  next 
meeting  for  action  and  for  time  to  write  to  the  Grand  Presi- 
dent for  advice  on  the  subject  before  the  house. 

Had  we  taken  the  matter  up  with  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
asked  them  for  permission  to  ask  these  different  lodges  what 
their  opinion  was  on  the  general  strike  issue,  we  would  have 
either  got  "gas-piped"  or  arrested,  and  in  addition  it  would 
not  serve  its  purpose  of  giving  it  a  debatable  reception  when 
it  arrived,  had  it  been  endorsed  and  dressed  up  by  all  the  silks 
and  satins  of  authority.  The  motions  to  write  to  the  high 
courts  for  information  became  so  numerous  that  the  Grand 
Lodges  themselves  had  to  issue  a  circular  letter  to  their  locals 
in  which  they  announced  that  anyone  who  would  come  to  the 


208  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

sacred  chambers  of  the  "worthy  brothers"  and  ask  them  for 
an  opinion  on  a  subject  so  delicate  as  a  general  strike  was  an 
illegitimate  child  and  therefore  not  entitled  to  a  decision  from 
the  sacred  ones  that  met  within  the  walls  of  the  mystic  shrine. 
On  this  subject  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  September,  1913, 
page  920,  under  the  caption  of  "Unauthorized  Circulars," 
stated : 

The  circular  issued  by  Carl  E.  Person  of  the  I.  C.  Federation,  with 
the  object  of  taking  a  general  strike  vote,  is  unauthorized  by  our  Inter- 
national President  and  General  Executive  Board  and  should  therefore 
be  ignored. 

Mr.  Johnston  had  at  this  time  decided  that  the  idea  of 
federation  was  all  wrong,  and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  he 
would  endorse  anything  sponsored  by  the  Federation  or  the 
men  on  strike.  The  circular  was,  however,  sponsored  by  the 
Memphis  Federation,  endorsed  by  the  Local  Federations  at 
every  point  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  all  points  on  the  Harri- 
man  Lines,  with  which  we  were  in  communication  at  the  time. 
Special  requests  came  from  such  large  terminal  points  as  Los 
Angeles,  Oakland,  Portland,  Salt  Lake,  Ogden,  New  Orleans, 
Memphis  and  Chicago,  that  this  campaign  for  securing  the 
expressions  of  the  labor  movement  as  to  the  general  strike 
issue  be  launched,  and  launched  as  soon  as  possible.  As  soon 
as  it  was  launched,  the  Grand  Lodge  steps  in  with  their 
authority  and  tells  their  constituents  that  you  must  not  answer 
the  inquiry  of  those  men  who  are  on  strike — they  are  such 
dangerous  people,  "don'tcha  know."  The  Grand  Lodges,  of 
course,  did  not  realize  that  by  taking  a  position  against  the 
men  on  strike  in  this  issue  they  again  placed  themselves  on 
record  as  opposing  the  efforts  of  the  men  on  strike,  and  assisted 
them  unintentionally  by  giving  the  subject  of  the  strike  and 
the  general  strike  issue  a  wider  range  of  publicity,  and  the 
cause  for  more  debates  than  would  have  been  had  they  kept 
their  feet  out  of  a  territory  that  we  had  a  perfect  right  to 
tresspass  upon  without  their  permission.  We  were  not  taking 
a  general  strike  vote — simply  asking  the  lodges  if  they  would 


GENERAL  STRIKE  AGITATION  209 

or  would  not  favor  a  general  strike  vote  to  be  taken  by  the 
Grand  Lodges  in  the  future.  A  good  many  lodges  gave  the 
men  on  strike  their  opinions  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  high 
court  had  issued  injunctions  against  them  prohibiting  them 
from  doing  so. 

Let  us  therefore  give  you  a  little  authority  on  this,  and 
so  that  you  can  appreciate  how  autocratic  the  Grand  Lodge 
was,  I  wish  to  put  an  entire  Machinists'  Lodge  on  the  witness 
stand. 

Let  me  quote  you  a  resolution  from  Machinists'  Lodge  No. 
492,  I.  A.  of  M.,  located  at  Chicago,  111.,  which  can  also  be 
found  on  page  1164  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  1913: 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 
WOODLAWN  LOGE  NO.  492 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Sept.  26,  1913. 

To  THE  INTERNATIONAL  PRESIDENT  AND  THE  GENERAL  EXECUTIVE  BOARD. 

Gentlemen:  In  the  September  issue  of  our  Journal,  under  the  head 
of  "UNAUTHORIZED  CIRCULARS,"  appears  the  following:  "The 
circular  issued  by  Carl  E.  Person  of  the  I.  C.  Federation,  with  the 
object  of  taking  a  general  strike  vote,  is  unauthorized  by  our  Interna- 
tional President  and  General  Executive  Board  and  should  therefore 
be  ignored." 

The  members  of  Woodlawn  Lodge  No.  492  are  desirous  of  know- 
ing what  right  the  International  President  and  General  Executive  Board 
have  to  rule  as  they  did  in  regards  to  this  circular  letter  sent  out  by 
Bro.  Carl  E.  Person,  inasmuch  as  Bro.  Carl  E.  Person  was  only  asking 
for  the  expressions  of  the  rank  and  file,  in  case  the  International  Presi- 
dent and  General  Executive  Board  sent  out  a  referendum  ballot  asking 
for  a  general  strike. 

We  believe  in  the  democratic  management  of  our  association  and 
not  by  a  few  of  the  individual  employees  that  are  receiving  their  sal- 
aries from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Association,  and  that  the  Interna- 
tional President  and  the  General  Executive  Board  should  endeavor  to 
execute  the  will  of  the  membership  and  not  try  to  rule  it  with  their 
autocracy  and  try  to  advance  their  own  individual  ideas. 

Therefore,  Woodlawn  Lodge  No.  492  thinks  that  the  International 
President  and  the  General  Executive  Board  should  be  severely  censured 
for  the  haste  in  trying  to  discourage  the  brothers  that  are  still  on  the 
firing  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Mar- 
quette  and  those  that  are  working  on  the  other  roads  that  are  of  the 
opinion  that  nothing  but  a  general  strike  will  bring  the  pending  strikes 
to  a  successful  termination,  because  it  has  been  clearly  shown  that  the 
International  President  and  the  General  Executive  Board  have  neglected 
to  provide  the  necessary  finances,  by  means  of  assessments  or  other- 
wise, to  carry  on  the  strike. 


210  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

We  insist  that  we  have  a  right  to  get  an  expression  of  opinion,  and 
any  method  which  strangles  an  opportunity  to  do  so  must  result  in  a 
great  injury  to  our  members  in  any  struggle  in  which  they  may  be 
engaged. 

We  are  sending  a  copy  of  this  letter  to  our  International  Presi- 
dent and  General  Executive  Board,  the  Journal,  the  Strike  Bulletin,  the 
Liberator  and  the  Unionist. 

Other  locals  that  are  of  the  same  opinion,  please  take  action. 

O.  WALTERS,  President  No.  492,  I.  A.  of  M. 
F.  G.   STEMLER,  Recording  Secretary. 
F.  W.  HACK,  Com. 
R.  D.  FLETCHER,  Com. 
JOHN  EGEHER,  Com. 


Now,  what  do  you  think  of  that? 

The  situation  got  so  rotten  that  the  lodges  throughout  the 
country  had  to  protest  against  the  situation.  Who  was  work- 
ing in  the  interest  of  the  common  cause — myself  or  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers? 

The  projections  failed  insofar  as  securing  the  expression 
from  the  locals  affiliated  with  the  Railway  Department,  but  a 
large  success  insofar  as  attracting  the  attention  of  the  labor 
movement  to  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines,  which,  of  course,  was  the  paramount  issue,  and  the  main 
reason  back  of  the  general  strike  subject,  as  we  fully  realized 
our  inability  at  this  time  to  jar  anything  like  a  general  strike 
loose  from  the  well-oiled  machine  that  is  known  as  the  Railway 
Department. 

A  kind  and  affectionate  letter  was  received  from  Mr.  A.  O. 
Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway  Department,  dated  at  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  July  2,  1913,  in  which  the  last  paragraph  reads 
as  follows: 

You  are  doing  your  full  duty,  educating  those  who  will  permit  a 
new  thought  or  sound  reasoning  facts  to  set  them  to  thinking  in  the 
right  channels.  When  we  get  to  that  stage  of  development,  Carl,  we 
won't  have  to  be  working  day  and  night  in  an  effort  to  get  men  to  do 
the  things  they  should;  they  will  do  them  naturally  and  in  the  interest 
of  all.  With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

A.  O.  WHARTOST, 
President  R.  E.  D. 


GENERAL  STRIKE  AGITATION  211 

Mr.  Wharton,  as  you  see,  came  forth  with  his  well  wishes 
at  times,  even  though  the  Grand  Lodge  President  was  tearing 
tilings  loose  in  general  and  making  it  disagreeable  for  the 
home  office  help.  It  must  have  been  a  burden  to  the  stenogra- 
phers and  bookkeepers  every  time  anything  happened  on  the 
struck  lines,  for  there  is  no  question  but  what  the  mahogany 
was  moved  about  recklessly.  Let  us  quote  Mr.  J.  A.  Franklin 
on  this  subject,  in  which  he  renders  the  following  advice : 

KANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  Sept.  3,  1913. 

MR.  EDW.  METHE,  10  Indiana  Ave., 
Danville,  111. 

Replying  to  your  favor  of  August  31,  in  reference  to  certain  cir- 
culars issued  by  one  Person  at  Clinton,  111.,  will  state  that  as  far  as 
I  have  any  knowledge,  Person  issued  the  circulars  without  consulta- 
tion or  authority  or  sanction  from  any  of  the  Internationals  and  was 
solely  acting  upon  his  own  initiative,  and  as  far  as  advice  in  regards 
to  the  advisability  of  a  general  strike,  I  would  suggest  that  you  take 
this  matter  up  with  President  Johnston  of  your  organization. 

Yours,  fraternally, 

J.  A.   FRANKLIN, 
International  President  Boilermakers,  Iron  Ship  Builders  &  Helpers. 

Mr.  Franklin  felt  sure  that  no  International  organization 
would  give  me  such  authority.  But  far  be  it  from  Mr.  Frank- 
lin to  go  beyond  his  established  jurisdictional  lines  and  render 
his  decision  to  a  machinist,  for  he  who  gives  information  or 
enlightenment  to  a  machinist  must  be  a  machinist  himself; 
therefore,  Mr.  Methe  was  wished  on  to  Mr.  Johnston.  Imagine 
a  striking  carman,  surrounded  and  being  beaten  up  by  a  half 
dozen  strikebreakers  in  Chicago,  111.,  and  Franklin,  Johnston 
and  O'Sullivan  watching  the  proceedings;  they  would  then 
discover  that  neither  had  the  constitutional  right  to  assist 
the  striking  carman,  but  decided  to  send  to  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
for  President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen,  who  had  full  jurisdiction. 
How  much  would  there  be  left  of  the  carman  when  Ryan 
arrived  on  the  grounds  ?  And  what  condition  would  he  be  in  ? 
Dead,  of  course.  This  is  an  example  of  how  every  issue  that 
developed  was  treated  by  the  boys  from  the  "inner  circle" 


212  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

during  the  strike.  It  was  dead  before  those  who  had  constitu- 
tional rights  and  j  urisdiction  arrived  on  the  j  ob  to  give  it  first 
aid.  Dead,  just  as  they  stood  around  and  let  the  Shopmen's 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  die.  While 
it  was  alive  they  spent  the  time  deciding  and  locating  their 
jurisdictional  lines,  and  after  it  was  dead  on  their  own  hands 
they  did  not  have  enough  energy  or  "own  initiative"  left,  as 
Mr.  Franklin  calls  it,  to  swing  the  corpse  upon  their  own  shoul- 
ders and  carry  it  along  with  them  to  remain  as  a  smallpox 
sign  for  their  own  door,  but  hung  it  out  in  the  prairie,  where 
gathers  the  flock  so  that  when  an  inquiring  soul  comes  and 
looks  over  the  ground,  they  can  point  to  another  dead  issue 
in  the  graveyard  of  failure  to  substantiate  their  arguments 
against  a  "government  by  the  people  and  for  the  people." 

Dead,  just  as  the  Railway  Department  will  some  day  die, 
from  its  jurisdictional  disease.  The  disease  that  is  sponsored 
by  the  false  prophets  who  preach  the  "one  for  all  and  all  for 
one"  from  the  pulpits  to  catch  the  admiration  of  the  crowd, 
then,  like  he  who  played  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,  sit  under 
the  dark  curtains  and  work  the  wires  to  classify  the  crowd 
that  marches  in  copper-riveted  overalls,  pull  the  wires  of  malice 
and  discontent  until  there  is  a  war  of  monkey-wrench  juris- 
diction and  disputes  over  the  territory  of  nuts  and  bolts,  ash- 
pan  hangers  and  drop-pit  stalls.  They  have  successfully 
wrecked  the  very  foundation  of  federation  and  all  of  that  which 
is  fundamental  and  essential  to  make  the  cause  of  federation 
accomplish  its  purpose.  And  while  they  were  playing  this 
modern  drama  of  ruin  and  disaster,  where  the  victor's  spoils 
is  but  the  monthly  license  fee  of  him  who  works,  the  music 
plays  "the  one  for  all  and  all  for  one"  and  the  crowd  stands 
there  and  applauds  in  their  maudlin  enthusiasm,  as  they  ap- 
plauded when  they  wrecked  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines. 

After  they  have  accomplished  their  purposes,  they  won't 
have  courage  enough  to  come  out  and  admit  that  it  was  they 
that  wrecked  it  with  their  jurisdictional  disease,  their  failure 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  213 

to  get  together  in  the  interest  of  the  common  cause,  for  they 
will  do  with  the  Railway  Department  what  they  did  after 
they  wrecked  the  Shopmen's  strike — hang  it  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  those  who  paid  the  price,  then  hoot  at  them  from  the 
grandstands  and  laugh  at  their  ignorance,  as  the  girls  did  at 
McCarthy's  wedding ;  after  they  had  touched  him  for  his  roll, 
they  tore  up  his  purse  and  pinned  it  on  the  back  of  his  dress 
suit  in  order  to  furnish  amusement  for  the  crowd.  But 
McCarthy  had  a  friend  who  came  to  his  rescue  before  the 
catsup  and  biscuits  ruined  his  dress  suit.  That  is  more  than 
the  cause  of  federation  has  got,  for  A.  O.  Wharton  will  sit 
there  and  view  the  passing  show,  and  say  nothing.  Just  like 
he  sat  and  said  nothing  when  they  wrecked  the  Shopmen's 
strike,  and  the  audience  continues  with  prolonged  applause. 

THE  COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT 

You  will  remember  the  stormy  days  of  the  Machinists' 
District,  and  how  Jack  Buckalew  tried  to  bribe  President 
Hawver  to  come  to  Mattoon,  111.,  for  a  "machine."  This  was 
in  December,  1912,  when  Jack  Buckalew  took  the  District 
to  Mattoon  to  let  it  die  a  peaceful  death,  but  I  promised  to 
show  how  it  was  brought  to  life  again  before  the  show  was 
over,  and  this  I  am  about  to  do.  President  L.  M.  Hawver 
of  the  District,  who  had  gone  to  Florida,  had  returned  to 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  was  working,  and  Wm.  A.  Newman, 
who  was  delegated  by  Buckalew  to  nurse  the  district  after  he 
resigned,  got  tired  of  looking  after  the  corpse,  and  in  the 
meantime  it  was  wished  onto  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of 
W.  A.  Moore,  in  Waterloo,  la.,  who  decided  that  there  was  as 
yet  enough  life  in  it  to  make  a  little  noise. 

Mr.  Moore,  full  of  the  militant  spirit,  was  waiting  for  the 
opportunity  to  take  the  corpse  and  shake  it  in  the  face  of  the 
gentleman  in  Washington;  and  this  opportunity  presented 
itself,  as  one  of  the  lodges  on  strike  in  East  St.  Louis  started 
to  demand  action  and  wanted  to  know  why  the  district  did  not 


214  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

go  along  and  carry  out  their  agreements  they  made  with  the 
Federation  in  November,  1912.  We  can  best  learn  what  took 
place  in  August,  1913,  pretty  near  a  year  later,  by  putting  Mr. 
W.  A.  Moore,  the  new  Secretary  of  the  District,  on  the  stand. 
I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  you  to  Mr.  Moore,  a  gentle- 
man  from  Waterloo,  la.,  who  says : 

LABOR  TEMPLE, 
WATERLOO,  IA.,  Aug.  5,  1913. 
To  ALL  MACHINIST  LODGES. 

Greeting:  I,  the  undersigned,  acting  under  instructions  of  District 
No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  International  President, 
am  submitting  to  you  an  appeal  for  financial  aid. 

Twenty-two  months  ago  we  came  out  on  strike  for  recognition  of 
the  principles  of  FEDERATION.  The  business  methods  applied  in 
handling  the  strike  have  proved  inadequate,  and  the  movement  has  suf- 
fered  accordingly.  This  battle  has  been  and  is  now  being  fought  from 
an  individual  craft  standpoint,  and  it  is  this  evil  that  we  wish  to  eradicate 
so  that  we  may  make  better  progress  in  the  future. 

Just  imagine,  if  you  can,  a  squadron  of  nine  battleships  (nine 
Grand  Lodges)  going  into  action,  each  with  its  own  individual  com- 
mander and  each  with  its  own  particular  method  of  attack.  "What 
do  you  think  would  become  of  them?"  .  .  .  Well,  COMPLETE  ANNI- 
HILATION would  be  their  fate. 

Let  us  prevent  such  a  condition  by  taking  the  proper  precaution; 
let  us  concentrate  our  efforts,  in  order  that  we  may  obtain  the  best 
results.  In  order  that  we  may  get  results,  we  must  have  money,  and 
to  those  of  you  who  are,  and  those  who  intend  to  donate  money  to  the 
cause  of  FEDERATION,  I  would  ask  that  you  continue  to  contribute 
as  often,  as  liberal  as  your  means  will  permit,  but  be  sure  that  you 
send  all  money  in  the  future  to  Bro.  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary, 
Box  D,  Clinton,  111. 

You  will  better  understand  the  reason  for  this  request  when  I  tell 
you  that  in  the  past  year  you  people  have  contributed  from  $8,000  to 
$10,000  per  month  to  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury  for  the  benefit  of  the 
strikers;  from  this  amount  the  I.  C.  strikers  were  led  to  believe  that  the 
sum  of  $1,000  per  month  would  be  appropriated  for  the  benefit  of  those 
still  out  on  the  firing  line.  However,  of  this  amount,  outside  of  consti- 
tutional benefits,  we  have  only  received  the  sum  of  $1,000. 

We  are  compelled  to  make  this  explanation  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
many  of  our  members  are  under  the  impression  that  all  these  dona- 
tions were  being  sent  to  the  strikers. 

This,  however,  is  not  true.  The  above  statement  is  a  true  fact. 
We  have  only  received  $1,000  from  Grand  Lodge,  in  addition  to  the 
constitutional  benefits,  during  the  twenty-two  months'  battle.  To 
obtain  even  this  paltry  amount,  we  have  had  to  fight  all  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers;  and  if  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  rock 
the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines  to  sleep,  why,  let  them  go  to  it. 

However,  with  your  assistance,  we  want  to  assure  you  that  we  will 
stay  on  the  job  and  continue  to  fight  to  the  limit  to  obtain  just  what 
you  intend  we  should  have  when  you  made  those  donations. 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  215 

Just  a  year  ago  Brother  Person  told  you  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
was  confiscating  the  money  donated  by  you  for  the  benefit  of  the 
strikers.  We  now  repeat  it,  and  as  evidence  of  this  fact,  we  want  to 
tell  you  that  we  have  not  even  received  ordinary  constitutional  benefits 
for  nearly  four  weeks  at  the  time  of  writing. 

We  do  not  question  where  the  money  is  going,  because  we  know 
where  the  money  is  going.  It  is  being  spent  for  special  organizing 
purposes;  and  if  that  is  not  CONFISCATION,  what  is  it? 

There  are  11  small,  but  important,  terminals  on  the  I.  C.  where  we 
have  no  pickets.  This  state  of  affairs  is  due  solely  to  the  fact  that  the 
money  that  you  have  contributed  to  the  cause  of  federation  is  being 
used  for  other  purposes. 

Now,  brothers,  what  is  true  of  our  own  organization  is  equally  true 
of  all  other  crafts  involved  in  this  strike,  and  we  have  therefore  in- 
structed the  Strike  Secretary  to  correspond  with  all  the  crafts  involved 
on  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines  with  a  view  of  consolidating  the 
strikers  under  one  head  so  that  the  financial  obligations  and  other  im- 
portant business  pertaining  to  the  strike  may  be  handled  through  one 
office  on  a  true  federated  basis.  Once  more  impressing  you  with  the 
necessity  of  sending  your  donations  and  assessments  direct  to  the  Strike 
Secretary,  Bro.  Carl  E.  Person,  and  thanking  you  in  advance  for  your 
favorable  consideration}  I  am, 

With  best  wishes, 

W.  A.  MOORE, 
Secretary-Treasurer  District  No.  21. 

P.  S.  If  you  desire  any  further  information,  I  will  be  glad  to  give 
it  to  you  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

W.  A.  M. 

Take  particular  notice  to  the  first  paragraph  of  Mr. 
Moore's  letter  and  you  will  note  the  words,  "AND  WITH 
THE  APPROVAL  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  PRESI- 
DENT." Imagine,  if  you  can,  President  Johnston  of  the 
Machinists  approving  of  the  letter. 

This  letter  was  drafted  by  Business  Agent  Molloy  of  the 
District,  L.  M.  Hawver,  President  of  the  District,  and  the 
new  Secretary,  W.  A.  Moore.  However,  after  a  day's  consid- 
eration, they  agreed  that  it  was  the  truth,  but  feared  that  Presi- 
dent Johnston  would  not  approve  of  the  letter.  They  there- 
fore drafted  another  letter  which  put  a  little  more  light  on 
the  situation.  So  we  will  again  put  Mr.  Moore  on  the  stand: 

WATERLOO,  IOWA,  Aug.  6,  1913. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Lodge  No.  266,  I.  A.  of  M.,  recently  sub- 
mitted a  proposition  to  the  Advisory  Board  of  District  No.  21,  which 
is  approximately  as  follows: 


216  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

First:  That  District  officers  prepare  and  send  out  an  appeal  to  all 
lodges  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  I.  A.  of  M. 

Second :  That  to  be  consistent  with  the  cause  for  which  we  are  out  on 
strike,  all  appeals  should  be  framed  requesting  that  all  money  col- 
lected should  be  sent  to  Bro.  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary, 
Box  D,  Clinton,  111.,  of  the  Central  Federation. 

Third:  That  the  Federation  shall  assume  all  the  financial  obligations 
of  District  No.  21. 

Fourth:  That  machinists  over  the  entire  system  who  are  still  on  the 
firing  line,  shall  receive  first  consideration  from  the  benefits  received, 
provided  they  in  turn  will  give  their  best  efforts  to  the  Federation. 

Fifth:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  be  authorized  to  increase  or  decrease 
the  pickets  when  same  are  out  of  proportion. 

Sixth:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Fed- 
eration be  requested  to  take  up  with  the  Harriman  Lines  strike  the 
question  of  amalgamating  the  strikers  under  one  head,  so  that  the 
finances  and  other  important  business  can  be  handled  through  one 
office. 

Seventh:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  shall  aim  to  pay  the  sum  of  $15.00 
as  benefits  to  all  strikers  on  the  firing  line  with  the  exception  of 
those  still  on  the  Grand  Lodge  payroll,  when  the  sum  shall  be 
the  difference  in  the  amount  of  Grand  Lodge  benefits  and  the  $15.00. 

This  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  Advisory  Board  and  a  suffi- 
cient majority  having  approved  of  the  same,  I  am  hereby  instructed  to 
submit  an  appeal  to  the  entire  membership  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  In  doing 
so,  I  want  to  bring  several  matters  to  your  attention  which  we  consider 
are  of  vital  importance  to  our  movement. 

Twenty-two  months  ago  we  came  out  on  strike  for  recognition  of 
the  principles  of  federation.  It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  we  are  put 
on  strike  to  compel  the  company  to  recognize  something  that  we  have  so 
far  refused  to  recognize  ourselves.  Our  forces  are  not  federated;  our 
present  methods  are  out  of  date,  and  we  have  no  coherent  plan  of 
action,  and  because  of  this  molly-coddle  methods  of  doing  business,  our 
movement  suffers  accordingly. 

This  battle  is  being  fought  from  an  individual  standpoint,  just  as 
each  Grand  Lodge  President  sees  fit  to  dictate,  and  as  a  consequence 
the  man  on  the  firing  line  is  made  a  mere  puppet  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  are  pulling  the  strings. 

Just  try  to  imagine,  if  you  can,  a  squadron  of  battleships  going  into 
action,  each  with  its  individual  commander  and  each  with  a  different 
line  of  action.  What  do  you  suppose  would  become  of  them?  Well, 
COMPLETE  ANNIHILATION  would  be  their  fate,  and  if  we  don't 
watch  out,  this  is  what  will  happen  to  us  unless  we  commence  doing 
business  on  a  federated  basis. 

Let  us  stop  it  while  there  is  yet  time ;  let  us  line  up  our  forces, 
concentrate  our  efforts,  and  fight  this  battle  along  sane  and  consistent 
lines;  with  a  sane  and  safe  policy  let  us  get  some  tangible  results  for 
the  money  that  you  are  putting  into  this  fight. 

To  those  who  have,  and  are  now  donating  money  to  the  cause  of 
the  Federation,  we  would  ask  that  you  continue  to  contribute  just  as 
liberally  as  your  means  will  allow  and,  above  all,  see  to  it  that  it  is 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  217 

sent  to  the  place  where  it  will  do  the  most  good,  and  insist  that  it  be 
used  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  for  which  it  was  originally 
intended. 

To  those  who  have  never  had  an  assessment  on  for  this  purpose, 
or  have  made  no  donations,  we  would  ask  that  you  do  so  soon  as  pos- 
sible. We  note  that  approximately  $6,000  monthly  has  been  sent  into 
the  Grand  Lodge  treasuries,  and  to  all  apparent  purposes  it  is  destined 
to  remain  there,  for  we  on  the  firing  line  have  not  even  received  con- 
stitutional benefits  for  nearly  four  weeks  at  the  time  of  writing.  Brothers, 
when  you  sent  that  money  in,  you  presumably  sent  it  to  be  used  for  some 
specific  purpose.  Will  you  go  yourselves  one  better  and  send  all  money 
collected  to  Brother  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary  of  the  Illinois 
Central  System  Federation,  Box  D,  Clinton,  111.?  I  will  try  to  show 
you  the  necessity  for  this  request.  There  are  12  important  terminal 
points  on  the  Illinois  Central  System  that  have  no  representation,  either 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  or  the  District,  i.  e.,  Council  Bluifs,  Cherokee, 
Carbondale,  Central  City,  Dubuque,  Fulton,  Ky.;  Louisville,  Ky.;  Jack- 
son, Miss.;  Amboy,  Indianapolis,  Sioux  City  and  Birmingham.  The 
same  applies  to  many  points  on  the  Harriman  Lines. 

Now,  brothers,  when  we  go  so  far  as  to  neglect  12  terminal  points, 
which  in  itself  is  important,  then  12  other  points  where  we  have  rep- 
resentation must  of  necessity  be  placed  in  jeopardy  and  suffer  accord- 
ingly. 

This  brings  us  to  the  point  where  we  must  ask  ourselves  the  ques- 
tion, "Are  we  f ederationists  ?"  or,  "Is  all  this  yelping  about  federation 
a  beautiful  dream?" 

Your  action  on  this  matter  will  determine  your  answer  to  this 
question  and  will  also  become  a  matter  for  future  reference.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  District  Board  in  St.  Louis  in  March  of  this  year,  President 
Johnston  was  asked,  and  he  told  us  that  he  favored,  and  led  us  to  believe 
that  the  Grand  Lodge  would,  in  accord  with  our  request,  pay  $1,000 
per  month  to  both  District  No.  21  and  No.  11. 

This  was  done  for  one  month  only,  and  upon  taking  the  matter  up 
again  recently  with  him  (President  Johnston),  he  stated  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  comply  further  with  our  request,  and  added  that  it 
would  be  all  right  for  us  to  go  ahead  and  solicit  funds  for  ourselves; 
hence,  this  appeal.  I  would  also  point  out  that  with  our  very  limited 
resources  we  have  already  put  up  such  an  aggressive  fight  that  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  has  found  it  impossible  to  make  money,  and  as 
evidence  that  they  are  not  doing  much  business,  we  would  point  out  that 
the  I.  C.  stocks  fell  from  167  at  the  inception  of  the  strike  to  105|  at 
the  present  time,  and  on  top  of  all  this,  and  with  the  help  of  a  three- 
quarter  of  a  million  dollar  loan,  they  could  only  declare  a  dividend  of 
5%  for  the  fiscal  year  just  ended.  This  is  2%  below  their  guaranteed 
7%,  which  is  the  lowest  in  many  years. 

One  other  point  and  I  will  close:  one  of  the  strongest  kicks  that  I 
have  heard  against  federation  is,  "That  the  Machinists  are  the  only 
ones  putting  up  a  fight." 

Be  this  as  it  may,  I  will  not  argue  the  point,  but  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  nothing  but  unadulterated  federation  principles  will 
dominate  our  action  at  all  times.  We  have  lost  sight  of  craft  unionism 
and  all  its  attending  curses,  and  are  working  for  a  greater  and  grander 
organization,  and  we  will  not  recede  one  iota  from  the  goal  of  federation. 


218  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Thanking  you  heartily  in  advance  for  your  co-operation  in  a  true 
federated  movement,  I  am,  with  best  wishes, 

Yours   fraternally, 

W.  A.   MOORE, 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

P.  S.  I  could  write  a  volume  on  this  subject,  but  do  not  want  to 
tire  you,  so  if  there  is  any  further  explanation  that  you  desire,  I  will 
be  glad  to  answer  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

W.  A.  M. 


Who  was  right  in  the  opinion  of  the  men  on  strike  in  1912, 
when  I  fought  Buckalew,  Conlon,  McCreery  and  Johnston? 
Here  are  the  men  on  strike  and  their  Business  Agent,  Molloy, 
as  well,  who  came  back  one  year  afterwards  and  are  making 
the  same  effort  that  I  made  in  1912.  I  am  therefore  vindicated 
by  the  men  on  strike,  who  are  on  the  job  and  who  have  paid 
the  price  for  the  show  in  which  they  openly  admit  that  the 
fight  I  have  put  up  against  the  shoulder  strap  organization 
has  been  in  accordance  with  federate  law.  Then,  so  far,  who 
has  been  prostituting  the  men  on  strike?  The  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  or  myself? 

But  let  us  hear  from  Mr.  Moore  again,  in  which  he  says : 

DISTRICT  LODGE  NO.  21 

WATERLOO,  IA.,  Sept.  17,  1913. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Enclosed  please  find  a  copy  of  letter 
received  from  President  Johnston,  in  reply  to  mine  of  the  10th,  con- 
taining a  copy  of  the  revised  appeal  for  aid. 

You  will  also  note  copy  of  my  reply  to  him  under  date  of  the  17th. 
Please  advise  what  course  I  shall  take  now.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do.  I  am  about  tired  out  with  the  damned  fooling  around, 
and  if  the  Grand  Lodge  will  persist  in  their  czar-like  methods,  then  I 
want  to  get  off  the  job,  for  I  am  beginning  to  realize  that  I  have  wasted 
two  years  of  my  life. 

Trusting  that  you  will  understand  the  sincerity  of  my  remarks,  I 
am,  with  best  wishes, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     W.  A.  MOORE, 
Secretary-Treasurer  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

P.  S.  What  can  we  do  to  make  that  joke  of  jokes  move?  viz.,  the 
Federation  of  Federations.  They  look  to  me  like  Andy's  peace  palace  at 
The  Hague. 

W.  A.  M. 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  219 

The  following  is  the  reply  from  President  Johnston  of 
the  Machinists  to  the  revised  circular  Mr.  Moore  forwarded 
him,  with  his  letter  of  the  10th,  as  mentioned  in  the  above 
letter  of  Mr.  Moore's,  and  reads  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  15,  1913. 
ME.  W.  A.  MOORE, 

District  No.  21. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  esteemed  favor  of  the  10th,  requesting 
the  approval  of  this  office  on  your  letter  of  appeal  you  desire  to  send  out 
to  the  membership,  received  and  contents  noted. 

In  reply,  beg  to  say  I  have  no  objections  to  approving  of  the  letter, 
providing  it  is  made  to  comply  with  our  constitution.  The  law  provides 
that  all  donations  shall  be  sent  thru  our  G.  S.  T.  This  must  be  complied 
with. 

You  can  rest  assured  that  any  money  received  by  this  office  desig- 
nated for  the  I.  C.  will  be  promptly  turned  over  to  you  as  Secretary. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  appeals  now  out,  all  of  which  are  com- 
ing through  the  Grand  Lodge.  I  will  say  for  your  information  there 
is  one  from  the  Pere  Marquette,  from  Mansfield,  Ohio;  Baltimore,  Md.; 
Hyde  Park,  Mass.;  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  several  others. 

I  will  not  agree  to  sanction  an  appeal  to  assist  a  SYSTEM  federa- 
tion, but  will  approve  appeal  issued  in  aid  of  the  Machinists. 

I  believe  that  it  is  high  time  that  we  allowed  these  other  organiza- 
tions to  assist  their  own  members.  Practically  all  the  money  that  has 
been  contributed  up  to  the  present  time  has  come  from  the  Machinists' 
lodges. 

I  believe  if  any  further  effort  is  being  made,  it  should  be  for  the 
Machinists'  lodges.  The  strike  has  been  for  some  time  a  Machinists' 
strike. 

We  are  practically  the  only  organization  that  is  putting  any  effort 
or  money  into  the  struggle. 

I  do  not  believe  we  would  be  justified  in  putting  in  any  further 
funds  to  help  the  other  organizations  when  they  have  made  no  effort 
to  support  themselves. 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  other  organizations  are  going  about  the 
country  informing  that  the  Machinists'  organization  is  bankrupt,  while 
they  have  lots  of  money. 

It  would  be  very  easy  for  us  to  boast  of  having  lots  of  money  if  we 
never  paid  any  out,  the  same  as  these  organizations. 

With  the  changes  suggested,  I  have  no  objections  and  trust  it  may 
bring  good  results. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 
International  President. 

Imagine  Washington  in  arms  again.  After  finding  out 
that  the  District  Jack  Buckalew  assured  them  was  sound 


220  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

asleep  under  the  careful  supervision  of  Wm.  A.  Newman  in 
Mattoon,  111.,  had  now  been  stirred  up  by  Business  Agent  Mol- 
loy,  President  Hawver,  and  the  new  Secretary,  Moore.  And 
please  learn  carefully  President  Johnston's  attitude  toward 
federation,  which  I  shall  comment  on  later. 

Mr.  Moore  made  the  following  reply  to  President  Johnston, 

in  which  he  says : 

WATERLOO,  IA.,  Sept.  17,  1913. 
MR.  WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  letter  of  the  15th,  in  reply  to  mine  of 
the  10th,  received  and  contents  noted. 

Would  say  in  reply  thereto,  that  while  I  believe  in  living  up  to 
the  constitution  as  nearly  as  possible  at  all  times,  there  most  invariably 
come  a  time  when  it  would  be  considered  good  policy  to  stretch  a  point, 
and  to  my  mind  that  time  has  now  arrived. 

We  have  12  important  terminal  points  on  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road where  we  have  no  pickets,  and  why?  Because  we  can't  get  money 
to  keep  men  on  the  line. 

We  have  made  repeated  efforts  to  raise  money  in  the  interest  of 
the  strike,  but  our  every  effort  has  been  blocked  at  every  turn. 

You  assure  me  that  all  money  intended  for  the  I.  C.  strikers  will  be 
turned  over  to  me  as  Secretary  of  District  No.  21.  What  good  does 
this  assurance  do  us  when  we  have  ample  proof  on  our  files  that  money 
has  been  sent  to  Grand  Lodge  for  our  benefit  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
has  promptly  returned  the  money  to  the  senders? 

My  contention  is  this:  If  any  or  every  lodge  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists  made  an  appropriation 
for  the  benefit  of  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines  strikers,  or,  in  other 
words,  "the  System  Federation,"  and  they  so  expressed  their  desire 
when  sending  the  money  to  Grand  Lodge,  then  Grand  Lodge  had  a  right 
to  forward  same  to  its  proper  destination;  but  it  had  no  right  to  assume 
the  position  of  the  dictator,  practically  telling  the  lodges  in  question 
that  they  did  not  know  their  business. 

Regarding  the  refusal  to  sanction  a  system  federation  appeal,  would 
say  that  I  am  somewhat  surprised,  for  while  you  may  be  acting  strictly 
within  the  confines  of  the  constitution,  it  is  a  decidedly  queer  stand  for 
a  man  of  progressive  ideas  to  take,  because,  whether  we  like  it  or  not, 
FEDERATION  is  the  movement  of  the  hour,  and  we  cannot  prevent  it; 
we  can  only  retard  its  progress. 

If  the  other  organizations  are  not  bright  enough  to  realize  this, 
then  let  us  take  them  by  the  hand  and  teach  it  to  them.  We  are  quite 
capable  of  doing  this,  if  we  will,  for  the  Machinists  have  always  been 
and  always  will  be  the  pioneers  of  progressive  thought  and  progress 
within  the  labor  movement.  Are  we  going  to  take  a  back  seat  now? 
Shall  we  allow  the  other  organizations  to  drag  us  back  to  their  warped 
individualistic  ideas?  By  the  gods,  I  hope  not. 

So  far  as  the  efforts  put  forth  during  this  struggle  is  concerned, 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  (while  you  personally  have  done  well,  consid- 
ering the  circumstances  under  which  you  took  control  in  1912)  we  should 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  221 

give  credit  where  credit  is  due.  I  believe  that  the  means  will  jusify 
the  end,  and  when  we  come  to  write  VICTORY  at  the  completion  of  this 
struggle,  we  will  have  to  give  it  to  the  men  in  the  Machinists'  organiza- 
tion, who  have  so  persistently  fought  for  FEDERATION,  and  who 
advertised  this  strike — men  who  have  been  persecuted  and  beaten  up 
by  thugs;  men  whose  sole  ambition  has  been  "the  greatest  good  for  the 
greatest  number." 

Personally,  I  will  not  make  the  suggested  change  on  my  own  initi- 
ative. It  is  now  up  to  the  Advisory  Board  of  District  No.  21.  It  is 
just  such  stalling  actions  as  this  that  has  got  the  Grand  Lodge  into  her 
present  unenviable  position,  and  incidentally  putting  us  to  the  bad. 

I  am  a  FEDERATION  1ST— militant,  if  you  like;  passive,  never. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)     W.  A.  MOORE, 
Secretary-Treasurer  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

What  do  you  think  of  Moore?  President  Johnston  was 
busy  in  Washington  about  this  time  trying  to  figure  out  where 
his  Business  Agent  had  picked  up  the  new  irresponsible  Secre- 
tary for  the  District.  Mr.  Moore,  being  a  good  democrat, 
solicited  the  advice  of  his  friends  in  the  new  unpleasantness, 
and  in  his  letter  to  me  courts  my  advice,  he,  of  course,  having 
full  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  I  had  some  experience  in  wag- 
ging Pete  Conlon's  dog,  and  Mr.  Johnston's  having  had  the 
misfortune  of  keeping  an  extra  force  busy  marking  down 
demerit  marks  against  my  card  number ;  therefore,  Father  Jack 
Buckalew's  wayward  child  favors  Mr.  Moore  with  the  follow- 
ing conservative  letter  of  condolence: 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Sept.  20,  1913. 
MR.  W.  A.  MOORE, 

Waterloo,  la. 

Dear  Moore:  Your  letter  fully  noted.  Also  the  enclosures.  There 
are  many  things  I  could  say  in  reply  to  same.  However,  this  is  not 
necessary,  for  Johnston's  letter  is  self-explanatory  and  shows  that  they 
do  not  want  federation.  This  is  possibly  news  to  you,  but  not  to  me,  as 
I  found  this  bunch  out  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  and  that  is  why  I  fought 
them. 

If  you  labored  under  the  impressions  that  they  will  approve  of 
anything  that  is  done  in  the  line  of  federation,  this  has  only  been  imagi- 
nations on  your  part.  NO;  never  for  that  bunch;  and  I  was  only  sur- 
prised to  know  that  you  would  ask  them  to  approve  of  any  line  of  action 
for  the  federated  movement. 

If  you  want  to  be  popular  with  those  boys,  you  will  have  to  get  out 
and  work  for  the  Machinists  exclusively;  and  not  only  this,  but  against 


222  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  other  crafts;  and  when  they  are  killed  off,  why,  Johnston  will  go 
to  Chicago  and  get  an  agreement  for  the  Machinists  that  will  imply 
a  settlement  for  a  few  of  the  runaways  and  not  for  those  who  have 
fought  the  fight;  and  this  agreement  will  only  be  to  make  the  animals 
believe  they  have  an  agreement,  for  after  they  are  in  there  a  few  weeks, 
they  won't  have  anything. 

I  do  not  know  what  you  will  do  in  the  future,  but  know  what  I  will 
do.  I  will  try  and  move  myself  when  it  is  possible  to  make  that  bunch 
move.  I  refuse  to  waste  tune  or  flirt  with  any  of  them,  for  I  have  gone 
over  the  route  of  trying  to  comply  with  adulterated  authority  a  long 
time  ago — or  at  the  position  where  you  find  yourself  now. 

The  question  with  us  is,  do  we  want  federation,  or  what  are  we  on 
strike  for?  Are  we  trying  to  force  the  I.  C.  to  recognize  a  law  that  we 
won't  adhere  to  ourselves? 

Be  it  win  or  lose,  I  am  going  to  stay  with  the  principle,  and  will 
throw  the  defiance  of  suspension,  expulsion  and  everything  else  at  those 
who  won't  fight  the  game  according  to  economic  law. 

Let  us  not  lose  any  time  trying  to  get  them  to  move,  or  the  other 
joke  that  you  speak  of,  but  move  ourselves.  This  fight  is  too  important 
to  dilly-dally  with  non-essentials. 

If  you  do  not  want  to  be  expostulated  or  suspended,  or  pos- 
sibly expelled,  do  not  do  anything  at  all.  I  thought  that  I  explained 
this  to  you  while  you  were  here,  for  if  you  want  to  stay  with  the  real 
cause  and  the  fundamental  issue,  you  can  expect  the  barking  hounds 
on  your  heels  all  the  time. 

It  is  a  fact  that  at  this  time  you  will  have  two  years  of  your  time 
WASTED,  if  you  will  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  annihilators  of  eco- 
nomic law.  You  will  not  be  responsible  of  wasting  two  years  of  your 
own  time,  but  the  two  years  of  the  many  of  your  working  class  brothers, 
who  don't  see  the  danger  and  who  do  not  stand  at  the  throttle  of 
motion,  but  those  who  are  depending  on  you  for  its  manipulation. 

You  must  look  into  the  vale  of  tomorrow,  or  the  field  of  reaction, 
and  place  yourself  on  a  solid  foundation.  If  you  think  that  you  have  suf- 
ficient grounds  to  stand  on  by  adhering  to  such  sophistry  as  Johnston's, 
then,  very  well,  go  ahead;  but  for  me,  I  have  tested  it,  weighed  it,  and 
measured  it,  and  taken  its  blueprints  from  every  angle,  and  I  won't 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  for  it  will  not  be  safe  to  stand  on  in  the 
future  when  the  issue  will  have  to  undergo  the  transition  period  on  the 
platform  of  reasoning. 

I  have  no  other  suggestions,  or  any  instructions.  This  proposition 
was  decided  on  at  one  time,  and  that  should  be  sufficient.  If  someone 
has  failed  to  carry  into  reality  contemplated  projections,  then  that  is 
up  to  them. 

The  question  with  you  should  be:  adjust  your  position  in  that  prin- 
ciple of  which  is  the  right  one,  and  prepare  yourself  to  swim  against 
the  current  YOURSELF,  if  you  have  to,  and  that  will  necessitate 
energy  and  PERSISTENCE.  IF  YOU  ARE  GOING  TO  GIVE  UP, 
it  is  easy  sailing,  and  you  will  find  lots  of  company  on  the  GRAND- 
STAND. However,  you  are  one  of  the  few  left  that  I  always  depended 
on  to  fight  for  the  cause  until  you  win  or  die  on  the  job,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  I  have  not  been  laboring  under  any  misconception. 

TODAY  IS  THE  DAY  FOR  MEN. 
Sincerely  yours, 

GAEL  E.  PERSON. 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  223 

A  year  before  this  time,  Mr.  Johnston  would  not  endorse 
a  letter  sent  out  to  aid  the  Machinists.  I  sent  them  out  and 
was  suspended  for  so  doing.  At  this  time,  a  year  later,  he 
has  softened  up  to  the  extent  that  he  would  endorse  a  letter 
sent  out  to  aid  the  Machinists,  but  not  to  assist  the  Federation ; 
he  is  off  it  for  a  good  many  reasons,  just  as  Mr.  C.  H.  Mark- 
ham  of  the  Illinois  Central  was  off.  One  of  his  excuses  was 
that  he  did  not  get  the  30  days'  notice ;  another  was  that  there 
was  a  carman  that  was  at  the  head  of  it,  and  when  Mr.  Walsh, 
the  chairman  of  the  commission,  pinned  him  down,  he  finally 
said,  "that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  fight  the  Federation 
at  any  price."  Mr.  Markham  was  at  least  a  gentleman  about 
it.  He  came  out  and  told  the  truth.  But  here  is  Mr.  Johnston, 
President  of  the  Machinists,  trying  to  hide  behind  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent excuses,  and  while  every  move  he  has  made  since  the 
inception  of  the  strike  indicates  that  he,  too,  was  going  to 
fight  the  Federation  at  any  price.  It  took  him  up  to  September 
15,  1913,  to  come  out  and  admit  it,  which  he  does  in  this  let- 
ter by  stating  that  he  wouldn't  do  anything  to  assist  federa- 
tion. And  at  the  same  time  he  is  playing  to  the  galleries  by 
squandering  the  funds  of  the  Machinists'  International  Union 
by  paying  per  capita  tax  to  the  Railway  Department  in  order 
to  make  people  believe  that  he  is  a  federationist. 

President  Johnston  put  in  a  good  word  for  the  Carmen, 
the  Boilermakers,  Sheet  Metal  Workers,  by  stating  that  they 
did  not  and  would  not  put  money  in  the  strike,  but  instead 
built  up  their  treasuries.  Right  you  are,  Mr.  Johnston,  and 
it  was  not  your  fault  that  you  did  not  do  the  same.  Give  this 
credit  to  Jack  Buckalew;  he  started  the  ball  rolling  on  the 
Illinois  Central,  throughout  the  district  and  his  war  cabinet. 
Johnston  wanted  to  make  his  next  election  campaign  on  the 
fact  that  he  had  built  up  the  association  treasury  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  "war  babies,"  but  he  failed,  for  the  "war  babies" 
cried  too  loudly  for  him  to  get  away  with  it.  The  other 
organizations  put  their  war  babies  to  sleep  or  gave  them  enough 
toys  to  play  with,  so  they  overlooked  the  real  issue,  and  there- 


224  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

fore,  like  the  Carmen  and  Boilermakers,  were  getting  rich 
enough  to  get  Wall  Street  ratings,  while  their  men  were  on 
the  line  without  funds.  Further,  had  not  their  men  put  up 
the  fight  they  did,  the  organization  wouldn't  have  enough 
railroad  agreements  now  to  make  a  shade  for  a  barnyard 
lantern. 

Mr.  Johnston  stated  that  the  Machinists  were  practically 
the  only  ones  putting  any  effort  or  money  in  the  struggle, 
and  therefore  were  willing  to  ditch  the  others  in  taking  this 
position.  There  was  no  credit  due  Johnston,  even  if  it  was  the 
truth,  for  Mr.  Johnston  did  his  share  in  trying  to  drive  his 
Machinists  off  the  system  long  before  this  15th  of  September, 
1913,  and  the  Machinists  who  were  on  the  line  at  that  time 
stayed  to  see  how  progressive  Mr.  Johnston  really  was.  They 
all  left  fully  satisfied  that  there  are  more  ingredients  of  con- 
servatism in  him  than  in  the  oldest  woman  of  Boston,  and 
that  he  is  a  bigger  reactionist  than  the  mossbacks  who  ridiculed 
Edison  when  he  first  got  an  idea.  But  what  made  him  danger- 
ous was  his  slippery  smile  of  deceit,  that  is  common  among 
Tammany  politicians  and  well  known  among  those  who  paid 
the  price  to  see  him  perform  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines. 

Assuming  that  all  of  the  other  organizations  had  given  up 
the  fight,  that  does  not  justify  Mr.  Johnston  of  the  Machin- 
ists to  surrender  and  give  up  the  organization.  The  men 
worth  while,  any  place  or  everywhere,  are  those  that  will  stand 
true  to  their  decisions  even  though  they  are  deserted  and  dis- 
owned by  everybody ;  it  is  dead  easy  to  play  the  game  when  the 
crowd  is  with  you,  but  to  stand  out  and  stand  alone,  deserted 
by  friends  and  surrounded  by  the  barking  wolves  of  reaction 
and  still  march  along  and  carry  your  own  load  and  the  load 
you  depended  on  others  to  shoulder  when  you  started  out  on 
the  journey,  that  is,  the  man,  and  the  man  worth  while,  and 
the  organization  that  will  and  can  also  do  that,  is  the  organi- 
zation worth  while. 

The  progress  that  had  been  made  in  the  labor  movement 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  225 

or  any  other  movement  has  been  made  by  the  determined  and 
unfaltered  few.  The  mob  never  did  anything  but  bark  and 
hiss  at  those  who  made  the  paths  of  progress.  Every  decisive 
battle  that  was  ever  won,  back  in  the  annals  of  history,  was  won 
because  back  of  it  was  the  determination  to  win  and  get  there, 
and  get  there  at  any  price.  The  same  bold  spirit  that  carried 
a  knapsack  upon  its  back  over  the  mountains  and  valleys  and 
sailed  the  seas  in  search  for  new  continents  and  the  repositories 
of  earth's  hidden  treasures. 

During  a  strike  any  place  there  is  always  the  scissorbill, 
who  is  waiting  for  a  chance  to  hide  behind  the  weakness  of 
others.  He  can  generally  be  seen  upon  the  avenue  or  down 
where  lingers  the  society  of  "the  can't  be  done,"  and  he'll 
point  to  the  actions  of  his  weak  sisters  and  upon  their  mis- 
fortunes try  to  build  up  a  justification  for  his  doing  the  same 
thing.  So,  too,  Mr.  Johnston  played  the  part  of  the  scissorbill, 
by  stating  that  Mr.  Ryan,  Mr.  Franklin,  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  Mr. 
Carrigan,  Mr.  Headrick,  Mr.  Kinsella  and  Mr.  Kline  had 
gone  back  on  the  movement  and  were  building  up  their  bank 
accounts  and  getting  rich,  not  taking  into  consideration  that 
there  was  something  else  at  stake  in  the  strike  but  the  desire 
to  "get  rich  quick,"  which  anyone  could  accomplish. 

There  would  not  be  a  local  labor  union  in  existence  today 
if  its  existence  depended  upon  everybody  to  go  along.  Every 
place  you  look  you  can  see  a  handful  of  men,  out  of  the  mob, 
that  are  the  active  and  moving  spirits  that  are  responsible  for 
its  existence,  its  progress,  its  growth  and  its  welfare.  These 
active  agents  do  not  have  in  mind  the  tearing  down  of  the 
charter  from  the  wall  because  the  Smiths  and  Schultz  brothers 
do  not  come  to  every  meeting  or  play  the  game  as  actively  as 
they  play  it  themselves,  but  instead  they  plug  along,  take  care 
of  their  own  responsibilities,  and  shoulder  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  dead-timber  element  as  well.  If  any- 
one goes  wrong  that  does  not  change  their  line  of 
action  or  cause  them  to  throw  up  their  hands  with  despair  like 
that  of  Mr.  Johnston  when  he  stated  that  "I  do  not  believe 


226  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

that  we  would  be  justified  in  putting  in  any  further  funds  to 
help  the  other  organizations,  when  they  have  made  no  effort 
to  support  themselves." 

In  justice  to  the  other  organizations,  it  can  be  said  that 
they  were  doing  something  at  that  time.  The  Blacksmiths  and 
Boilermakers  were  placing  about  as  much  money  on  the  line 
then  as  the  Machinists  were ;  they  did  not  have  as  many  men, 
but  those  that  they  had  on  were  being  paid  more  than  what 
was  paid  to  the  Machinists.  The  Carmen  were  not  doing 
anything  at  this  time.  Had  Mr.  Johnston  made  this  state- 
ment in  December,  1912,  he  would  have  caught  them  all  laying 
down  on  the  job  but  the  Blacksmiths,  who  had  some  men  on  the 
line  since  the  very  inception  of  the  strike  until  it  was  called  off. 

The  new  district  did  not  carry  out  their  plans,  because  of 
the  fact  that  the  Grand  Lodge  had  threatened  to  suspend  all 
the  members  of  the  district,  and  in  a  letter  dated  some  few 
months  after,  Mr.  Moore  can  best  explain  the  situation,  there- 
fore we  will  again  put  Secretary  Moore  on  the  stand : 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS, 
DISTRICT  LODGE  NO.  21 

LABOR  TEMPLE,  WATERLOO,  IOWA,  Dec.  22,  1913. 
To  the  "Boys"  on  the  I.  C.  Firing  Line. 

Brothers — Greeting:  It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  be  able  (thru 
the  generosity  of  the  various  lodges  who  have  contributed  to  our  appeal) 
to  send  out  a  small  benefit  as  an  extra  for  Xmas. 

In  doing  so  I  want  to  say  a  few  words:  I  fully  realize  that  I  have 
been  unable  to  satisfy  everybody,  but  under  the  circumstances  I  have 
done  the  best  I  could,  and  if  I  could  go  fully  into  detail  I  believe  that 
you  would  coincide  with  me.  The  situation  that  I  have  found  myself  in 
at  different  times  has  been  very  trying  to  me,  as  I  could  not  always  do 
as  I  have  desired  to. 

There  was  an  occasion  when  our  Grand  Lodge  President  made  a 
threat  to  not  only  suspend  me,  but  every  member  of  the  district,  conse- 
quently someone  had  to  back-water  and  I  did  it  to  avoid  such  action 
being  taken. 

This  circumstance  was  brought  about  mainly  by  an  action  of  the 
Advisory  Board,  taken  before  I  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  Sec- 
retary-Treasurer, and  which,  although  quite  legal  and  orderly,  was 
directly  the  means  of  calling  forth  this  rebuke  from  our  President. 

When  the  time  arrives  this  can  all  be  explained,  but  in  the  mean- 
time we  must  avoid  friction,  and  to  that  end  I  want  to  devote  my  atten- 
tions as  I  said  before.  I  probably  have  not  satisfied  all  of  you,  but  I 


COMING  BACK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  227 

have  ever  had  in  mind  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned,  and  until  I  can 
see  something  better,  that  is  the  principle  that  will  dominate  all  my 
actions  while  occupying  the  position  as  your  Secretary-Treasurer. 

I  will  close  by  thanking  each  and  every  one  of  you  for  the  support 
and  encouragement  that  you  have  given  me  and  for  the  noble  work  that 
you  are  doing  under  adverse  circumstances. 

Wishing  you  one  and  all  as  happy  a  Christmas  as  the  conditions  will 
allow,  and  hoping  for  a  brighter  and  prosperous  New  Year,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

W.  A.  MOORE, 
Secretary-Treasurer  District  No.  21. 

That  was  the  ultimatum  issued  to  Mr.  Moore,  Secretary 
of  the  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  that  if  he  would  issue  or 
cause  to  be  issued  a  letter  from  the  district,  soliciting  financial 
aid  for  the  Federation,  he  would  not  only  suspend  Secretary 
W.  A.  Moore  from  the  Machinists'  organization  but  every 
member  of  the  district,  which  included  all  the  Machinists  on 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  What  do  you  think 
of  that  for  autocracy  ?  Such  was  the  decision  of  he  who  said, 
"I  am  the  King."  In  this  case  he  was  worse  than  he  was  a 
year  previous  to  that  time  when  I  was  suspended ;  he  was  sat- 
isfied then  by  suspending  me  as  the  District  Secretary  and 
calling  for  Jack  Buckalew's  resignation.  But  now,  one  year 
further  into  the  strike,  he  threatened  to  take  the  card  away 
from  every  Machinist  on  the  system,  those  who  had  walked 
the  line  there  for  the  cause,  for  two  long  years  and  stoked  up 
the  fires  of  the  force  that  moved  forward.  This  took  place 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirteen  years  after  the  birth 
of  Christ,  in  the  enlightened  country  of  the  United  States,  by 
a  labor  leader  named  W.  H.  Johnston,  who  was  parading 
around  under  the  mask  of  progressivism. 

Mr.  Moore,  District  Secretary,  was  a  good,  honest,  sincere 
fellow,  like  the  average  good  union  man  that  had  stood  on 
the  line  and  weathered  the  storm  and  its  consequences  for  two 
years.  He  did  not  want  to  take  the  chance  of  jeopardizing 
the  union  card  of  all  the  Machinists  on  strike  on  the  Illinois 
Central.  Had  his  own  card  been  the  only  thing  at  stake,  Mr. 
Moore  would  have  willingly  told  Johnston  to  go  to  Atlantic 


228  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

City  for  the  rest  cure.  Very  fortunate,  however,  that  such 
ultimatum  was  not  issued  to  me  when  I  was  shaking  up  the 
district,  for  some  morning  all  the  striking  Machinists  would 
have  wakened  up  and  found  out  that  they  had  been  excom- 
municated from  the  Washington  insurance  society.  My  policy 
was  that  if  you  couldn't  play  the  game  squarely  while  carrying 
the  iron  cross,  you  was  a  better  soldier  without  it. 

THE  AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM 

By  this  time  you  will  possibly  say,  what  was  the  move- 
ment doing  on  the  Harriman  Lines?  I  will  try  and  tell  you. 
Jack  Buckalew  was  in  Omaha,  September,  1912,  and  from  all 
indications,  Samuel  Grace,  Business  Agent  for  the  Machinists 
on  the  Harriman  Lines,  was  just  sitting  on  the  corpse — that's 
all.  He  made  absolutely  no  effort  to  keep  up  an  organization 
or  get  any  money  on  the  job,  just  waiting  around  like  an  old 
lady. 

Let  us  hear  from  Jack  Buckalew  on  this,  in  his  letter  of 
Sept.  17,  1912,  which  you  will  find  by  turning  back  in  this 
book.  He  says  in  the  next  to  the  last  paragraph : 

"I  AM  SORRY  TO  SAY  THAT  DISTRICT  NO.  11 
HAS  SHOWN  SO  LITTLE  ACTIVITY  ALONG  THIS 
LINE." 

If  you  will  read  Jack's  letter  again,  you  will  find  that  he 
is  sorry  because  District^  No.  11  is  laying  down  on  the  job, 
and  therefore  they  left  it  all  to  District  No.  21.  District  No. 
11, 1.  A.  of  M.,  derived  the  benefits  of  the  work  that  was  done 
in  District  No.  21  on  the  Illinois  Central.  There  are  no  records 
any  place  or  anywhere  to  show  where  District  No.  21  of  the 
Illinois  Central  had  solicited  one  dollar  since  July,  1912. 
Without  making  the  request  that  the  60  per  cent  of  the  money 
should  be  sent  to  the  boys  on  the  Harriman  Lines.  There- 
fore, District  No.  21  spent  the  money  for  circulars,  postage, 
maintained  an  office,  and  asked  for  the  small  end  of  the  receipts. 
This  stands  out  as  an  undeniable  fact,  and  such  was  the  proper 


AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM  229 

thing  to  do,  for  the  boys  on  the  Harriman  Lines  shouldn't 
have  suffered  if  it  could  be  helped,  because  Samuel  Grace  went 
to  sleep  on  the  coffin,  and  when  someone  went  to  him  and  said, 
"Sam,  get  up  and  do  something,"  he  then  went  to  his  Bible, 
"THE  MACHINIST  CONSTITUTION,"  and  decided  that 
he  had  not  better  say  anything  for  fear  that  he  would  be  cut 
off  the  payroll  at  Washington.  I  assume  that  he  would  mur- 
mur to  himself,  "WELL,  I  AM  GETTING  MINE,  SO 
WHAT'S  THE  USE?"  Of  course,  this  is  only  an  assump- 
tion, but  if  you  will  look  over  the  monthly  financial  statements 
issued  by  George  Preston  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  from  Washington 
between  June  1, 1911,  to  Dec.  31, 1915,  you  will  find  that  Sam 
got  about  $6,151.36  for  being  kind  to  Pete  Conlon's  dog.  Of 
course  the  strike  was  in  progress  during  this  time,  and  occa- 
sionally Sam  would  take  a  trip  over  the  cushions  and  tell  the 
boys  to  stick,  that  is,  when  he  found  someone  left  in  the  place 
to  stick. 

Someone  will  possibly  say,  maybe  Sam  didn't  know  there 
was  a  strike  on.  That  question  came  up  among  the  boys  on  the 
Illinois  Central,  and  it  was  in  the  middle  of  1913  when  it  was 
decided  that  it  would  be  an  appropriate  time  to  put  Sam  on 
record,  so  that  after  the  strike  was  over  he  could  not  come  out 
and  play  ignorant  and  say  that  no  one  told  him  that  there  was 
a  strike  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  so  let  us  see  what  happened 
when  he  was  told  about  it,  which  reads  as  follows : 

RAILWAY  EMPLOYES'  DEPARTMENT 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  July  25,  1913. 
MESSRS.  C.  E.  COLLINGS,  T.  G.  ALVORD,  J.  G.  TAYLOR,  S.  H.  GRACE. 

Gentlemen  and  Brothers:  The  enclosed  proposition  was  endorsed 
by  Lodge  No.  266,  I.  A.  or  M.,  and  is  self-explanatory: 

First:  That  district  officers  prepare  and  send  out  an  appeal  to  all 
lodges  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  I.  A.  of  M. 

Second:  That  to  be  consistent  with  the  cause  for  which  we  are  out 
on  strike,  all  appeals  should  be  framed  requesting  that  all  money  col- 
lected should  be  sent  to  Bro.  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary,  Box 
"D,"  Clinton,  111.,  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation. 

Third:  That  the  Federation  shall  assume  all  the  financial  obliga- 
tions of  District  No.  21. 


230  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Fourth:  That  Machinists  over  the  entire  system  who  are  still  on  the 
firing  line  shall  receive  first  consideration  from  the  benefits  received, 
provided  they  in  turn  will  give  their  best  efforts  to  the  Federation. 

Fifth:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  be.  authorized  to  increase  or  de- 
crease the  pickets  when  same  are  out  of  proportion. 

Sixth:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  of  Illinois  Central  System  Fed- 
eration be  requested  to  take  up  with  the  Harriman  Line  strike  the  ques- 
tion of  amalgamating  the  strikers  under  one  head,  so  that  the  finances 
and  other  important  business  can  be  handled  thru  one  office. 

Seventh:  That  the  Strike  Secretary  shall  aim  to  pay  the  sum  of 
$15  as  benefits  to  all  strikers  on  the  firing  line  with  the  exception  of 
those  still  on  the  Grand  Lodge  payroll,  when  the  sum  shall  be  the  differ- 
ence in  the  amount  of  Grand  Lodge  benefits  and  the  $15. 

Brother  Newman,  our  District  Secretary-Treasurer,  has  had  the 
matter  of  finance  up  with  President  Johnston,  and  he  informs  me  that 
President  Johnston  has  given  his  consent  for  us  to  circularize  all  local 
bodies  for  funds  to  keep  our  men  on  the  line  and  continue  an  aggressive 
campaign. 

We  should  by  all  means  get  our  business  under  one  head  and  have 
a  system  of  handling  same.  We  want  permission  to  use  your  name  on 
an  appeal  to  all  sister  lodges  for  funds,  same  to  be  sent  to  Brother  Carl 
E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Central  Federation. 

The  question  of  the  fair  division  of  funds  is  a  hard  one  to  solve; 
however,  I  think  that  Brother  Person,  assisted  by  your  advice,  would  be 
perfectly  fair  in  this  matter,  as  we  are  all  in  this  fight  in  the  interest 
of  the  brothers  on  the  Harriman  Lines  as  well  as  on  the  Illinois  Central. 

When  this  proposition  was  drawn  up,  we  hardly  knew  how  to  go 
about  it  to  cover  your  situation,  and  as  time  is  valuable,  and  no  money 
in  our  treasury,  we  should  rush  this  matter  as  much  as  possible  and  get 
out  our  letter. 

I  believe  with  your  co-operation  we  can  get  nearly  all  of  the  money 
that  is  being  donated  by  the  rank  and  file  for  the  conduct  of  this  strike 
sent  to  one  point  which  would  amount  to  from  $4,000  to  $8,000  per  month, 
using  this  to  pay  special  benefits  to  live  men  on  the  lines  and  doubling 
our  efforts  on  the  advertising,  we  will  give  the  railroads  a  run  for  their 
money. 

I  favor  getting  right  after  all  other  crafts  the  same  way,  but  first 
we  must  get  right  ourselves. 

Brother  Newman  has  tendered  his  resignation  as  District  Secretary- 
Treasurer,  to  take  effect  July  31st,  and  Brother  W.  A.  Moore,  Labor 
Temple,  Waterloo,  Iowa,  has  been  selected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Brother  Scott  has  suggested  that  effort  be  made  to  have  the  Secre- 
taries of  the  Harriman  Lines  forward  weekly  reports  to  Brother  Person, 
so  that  same  can  be  embodied  in  this  bulletin;  at  the  present  time  he  is 
receiving  but  very  few  reports  from  the  Harriman  Lines. 

Hoping  to  receive  an  early  and  favorable  reply,  I  remain, 

Yours  in  battle, 

(Signed)     L.  M.  HAWVER, 
President  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M. 

Address,  Room  302,  Sawyer  Bldg., 

810  Chestnut  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM  231 

Now,  imagine  Sam,  if  you  can,  rubbing  his  eyes,  reading 
that  letter  and  going  over  the  constitution.  Being  mindful 
that  he  had  at  that  time  received  a  good  portion  of  the 
$6,151.38,  he  starts  out  to  consult  President  Johnston  of 
Washington.  Yes,  way  up  in  1913,  pretty  near  two  years 
after  the  strike  was  called,  he  didn't  know  any  better  than  to 
consult  President  Johnston  on  something  that  would  be  con- 
ducive to  the  best  interest  of  the  strike.  Let  us,  therefore, 
hear  Sam  himself  on  this  question : 

OMAHA,  NEB.,  July  29,  1913. 
MR.  WM.  H.  JOHNSTON,  V.  P., 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  just  in  receipt  of  a  letter  and  circular 
from  Brother  L.  M.  Hawver,  President  District  No.  21,  copy  of  which 
was  sent  other  officers  of  District  No.  11,  in  which  he  states  that  you 
have  given  Brother  Newman,  Secretary  of  District  No.  21,  permission 
to  send  out  an  appeal  for  financial  aid  to  our  lodges  throughout  the 
country  and  desiring  permission  to  use  the  names  of  some  of  the  officers 
of  District  No.  11,  and  then  have  all  the  funds  sent  to  Brother  Person 
at  Clinton,  who  will  disburse  same  in  advertising  the  strike  and  in  the 
payment  of  men  doing  picket  duty,  endeavoring,  if  I  understand  the 
affair  properly,  to  pay  all  the  pickets  at  the  rate  of  $15  per  week,  deduct- 
ing, of  course,  what  the  men  on  picket  duty  receive  from  their  own  organi- 
zation, also  desiring  that  what  funds  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the  District 
Secretary-Treasurer  of  either  district  will  be  sent  to  Brother  Person,  and 
in  the  circular  issued  by  one  of  the  I.  C.  lodges,  No.  266,  they  say  Machin- 
ists shall  be  given  first  consideration. 

What  they  are  driving  at  is  more  than  I  can  see,  unless  they  want 
to  turn  the  handling  of  the  entire  strike  over  to  Brother  Person.  You 
can,  no  doubt,  secure  a  copy  of  the  letter  sent  out  by  Hawver  or  John 
Scott. 

I  have  never  seen  any  notice  where  you  have  sent  out  any  circular 
to  offset  the  other  one  requesting  that  donations  be  sent  to  G.  L.,  and 
believe  that  if  you  have  given  District  No.  21  permission  to  send  out  a 
circular  to  your  lodges,  District  11  should  have  the  same  privilege  unless 
it  can  be  arranged  so  that  a  joint  circular  in  the  form  of  an  appeal  can 
be  sent  out  after  the  expense  has  been  paid.  Then  the  balance  of  the 
funds  to  be  sent  to  the  District  Secretary-Treasurer  on  the  basis  of  40 
per  cent  to  the  I.  C.  and  60  per  cent  to  District  11,  or  even  a  new  per- 
centage, but  think  if  they  will  publish  the  receipts  of  District  No.  21,  as 
done  by  District  11,  all  will  see  that  they  have  received  their  percentage. 

Further,  I  have  never  seen  any  official  notice  after  the  G.  L.  removed 
Brother  Person  from  the  position  of  Assistant  Secretary  of  District  No. 
21,  whereby  he  was  eligible  for  the  position  they  now  want  to  place  him 
in.  Let  District  No.  21  handle  their  affairs  in  any  way  they  see  fit,  and 
surely  our  district  is  entitled  to  the  same  consideration. 

I  shall  contend  that  the  Machinists  have  been  financing  and  con- 
ducting this  strike  for  some  time  and  will,  no  doubt,  have  to  continue 


232  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

to  do  so  in  the  future.  Let  the  other  organizations  show  some  interest  in 
the  affair  and  then  it  will  be  time  enough  to  request  something  further 
from  the  Machinists,  and  not  until  then,  in  my  opinion.  I  am  perfectly 
willing  to  let  any  outside  party  handle  the  funds  if  an  appeal  is  to  be 
issued,  either  Wharton,  Scott  or  our  General  Secretary-Treasurer,  but 
am  certainly  opposed  to  any  such  a  one-sided  proposition  as  contemplated 
in  the  present  circular.  Have  nothing  personal  against  Brother  Person 
or  any  other  members  of  District  No.  21,  but  insist  at  least  upon  an 
even  break  for  the  men  of  District  No.  11,  and  will  notify  Brother 
Hawver  that  I  must  refuse  the  use  of  my  name  to  any  appeal,  the  funds 
to  be  used  as  outlined  in  his  letter  and  in  circular  of  Lodge  No.  266. 
Awaiting  your  reply,  and  with  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     SAMUEL  GRACE, 

B.  A.,  District  No.  11. 


Now  that  Sam  had  wakened  up  and  you  have  heard  his 
testimony,  you  will  note  that  he  is  not  very  strong  for  co-opera- 
tion. He  didn't  know,  of  course,  that  the  money  that  District 
No.  11  had  received  for  the  last  year  was  the  money  that 
District  No.  21  solicited  for  them,  such  as  the  money  from 
Lodge  No.  695  at  Silvis,  111. ;  Lodge  No.  473  at  Danville,  111., 
and  the  other  lodges  east  of  Omaha,  east  of  Kansas  City  and 
St.  Louis,  such  lodges  as  our  men  visited  and  requested  the 
60  per  cent  of  the  money  to  be  sent  to  District  No.  11.  Sam, 
of  course,  thought  that  this  money  came  in  of  its  own  volition, 
without  any  agency  requesting  that  it  be  routed  in  this  manner. 

The  proposition  insofar  as  Machinists  was  concerned  stated 
that  could  the  co-operation  of  the  District  No.  11  be  brought 
about  with  the  Federation,  the  Federation  would  take  over 
their  payroll,  and  pay  such  men  as  they  already  had  on  the 
payroll  out  of  the  money  coming  in,  providing,  however,  that 
such  men  were  devoting  all  their  time  to  the  interest  of  the 
strike  and  should  funds  warrant  it,  then  the  Federation  would 
pay  anyone  from  any  craft  that  was  doing  picket  duty,  but 
first  look  after  those  that  were  already  on  the  line,  before  new 
pickets  would  be  added  to  the  payrolls. 

But,  as  you  can  understand,  Samuel  Grace  was  afraid 
that  some  dollar  that  had  been  donated  by  a  Machinist  lodge 
somewhere  would  be  used  in  paying  a  blacksmith  or  a  pipefitter, 


AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM  233 

for  giving  the  movement  18  hours  a  day  in  the  interest  of  the 
strike;  this  you  can  understand,  can't  you?  And,  of  course, 
Sam  is  a  federationist,  providing  that  everybody  else 
is  a  federationist.  But  should  someone  by  misfortune, 
ignorance  or  poverty  be  unable  to  play  the  game,  then  Sam 
Grace,  like  little  Michael  Brodie  next  door,  who  quit  on  the 
job  because  his  little  sister  did  not  carry  as  many  buckets  of 
water  for  the  potato  plants  in  the  garden  as  he  did,  so,  too,  Sam 
Grace  quit  on  the  job  because  some  of  his  playmates  couldn't 
carry  the  same  load.  Poor  old  Samuel,  he  was  going  to  see 
that  the  fellows  that  did  not  have  a  penny  to  put  in  the  slot 
weren't  going  to  get  any  chewing  gunm. 

Is  there  any  wonder  that  the  strike  was  lost  ? 

Sam  should  have  known  that  if  the  membership  of  the 
other  crafts  were  not  doing  what  they  should,  it  was  not  the 
fault  of  the  membership,  but  the  fault  of  the  International 
officers  of  those  organizations. 

What  would  you  say  if  the  Secretary  or  the  President  of 
your  union  would  resign  next  meeting  because  every  member 
of  their  union  did  not  attend  as  many  meetings  during  the  year 
as  they  did  ?  I  know  what  would  happen  if  the  Mahony  broth- 
ers were  there.  They  would  ride  him  on  a  rail  out  of  town, 
or  take  him  to  a  nut  factory,  or  at  least  tell  him  that  we 
had  arrived  in  the  bright  age  of  the  twentieth  century. 

What  would  you  say  if  some  old  moss-back  would  come  in 
and  get  a  job  in  the  morning  and  was  assigned  to  the  big 
planer,  or  the  36-inch,  over  against  the  wall.  And  then  in  a 
few  days  he  would  quit  because  he  discovered  that  others  in 
the  shop  were  not  doing  as  much  work  as  he  was  ?  Please  tell 
me,  wouldn't  you  say  he  was  a  "nut,"  that  you  never  heard  any- 
thing like  it  before  ?  No,  my  reader,  you  have  to  go  into  the 
labor  movement  to  find  people  as  insane  as  "Sam." 

Or,  suppose  that  Sam  Grace  should  go  to  work  in  some 
shop  and  be  assigned  to  the  erecting  gang,  and  he  found  that 
because  he  was  a  new  man  and  did  not  have  as  much  experi- 
ence as  the  rest  of  the  boys,  or  handicapped  by  age,  and  then 


234  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

all  the  boys  would  quit  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  pick  up 
their  tools  and  the  general  foreman  would  come  along  and 
ask  them,  "What's  the  matter?"  and  they  would  say,  "Well, 
Sam  Grace  can't  do  as  much  work  as  the  rest  of  us,  therefore 
we  won't  work  with  him."  Of  course  you  would  say  that  would 
never  happen.  No,  never,  among  people  that  have  common 
sense.  But  this  is  just  what  Sam  Grace  did  with  us  while  we 
were  on  strike.  He  wouldn't  work  with  the  rest  of  the  boys 
because  he  was  the  strongest,  the  biggest  and  the  best  of  them 
all.  And  if  this  was  the  case,  this  is  the  very  reason  why  he 
should  keep  right  on  working  and  carry  the  loads  of  those  that 
couldn't  keep  up  their  end  as  well  as  he  could. 

But  what  can  you  do  with  them?  Let  them  die  in  peace, 
for  they  are  as  far  behind  the  time  as  the  old  trapper  you  met 
in  your  last  hunting  trip  out  in  the  mountains,  who  kept  you 
up  all  night  talking  Bryan  and  free  silver.  What  applies  to 
Sam  Grace  in  the  foregoing  can  also  apply  to  President  John- 
ston of  the  Machinists  and  all  the  reactionary  characters  that 
I  have  made  you  acquainted  with  in  this  story. 

Let  us  again  talk  with  Sam  Grace.  He  would  not  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  federate  proposition  in  centralizing 
the  movement  on  the  two  roads  on  strike,  because  President 
Johnston  did  not  like  the  way  I  had  treated  Pete  Conlon's 
dog.  I  was  aware  of  the  fact  that  if  the  movement  was  going 
to  sleep  in  Sam  Grace's  district,  we  would  suffer  the  conse- 
quences as  well  on  the  Illinois  Central.  But  he  wouldn't  play 
because  I  had  demerit  marks  against  my  record  in  Washington, 
and  so  he  put  up  the  same  excuse  as  "Bright  Eyes,"  the  mer- 
chant's daughter,  did  when  she  was  given  an  invitation  to 
Jenny's  birthday  party.  She  wouldn't  come  because  the  little 
Italian  girl  in  the  house  near  the  bridge,  who  didn't  curl  her 
hair  or  wore  ribbons  on  her  Easter  bonnet,  was  to  be  there. 
So,  too,  with  Sam  Grace,  and  he  is  old  enough  to  shave  and 
wear  long  pants,  see  a  burlesque  show,  has  been  out  all  night 
with  the  boys,  heard  of  Mary  Pickford,  Charley  Chaplin  and 
Bill  Johnston. 


AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM  235 

But  let  us  connect  up  the  story  and  learn  what  Washington 
said  in  reply  to  Sam's  letter.  Washington  to  the  witness  stand : 

R.  P.  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Aug.  5,  1913. 

SAM  GRACE,  A.  O.  WHAETON,  FRANK  CONNOR. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  Mr.  Johnston,  being  about  to  leave  Wash- 
ington, has  requested  the  undersigned  to  send  copies  of  this  communi- 
cation to  all  foregoing,  with  the  following  explanation: 

First:  That  some  time  ago,  when  making  donations  from  the 
G.  L.  Treasury  to  Districts  11  and  21,  he  was  of  the  expectations  of 
being  able  to  continue  said  donations  on  a  monthly  basis,  and  that  no 
one  regrets  more  than  himself  (and  the  undersigned)  that  he  was  unable 
to  repeat  said  donations. 

The  demands  made  upon  us  for  strike  benefits  have  been  so  large  as 
to  use  up  our  funds  entirely  and  we  are  now  nearly  two  weeks  in  arrears 
with  our  payrolls  to  local  lodges. 

It  is  this  consideration  which  influenced  him  to  grant  the  request  of 
District  21,  per  Brother  Newman,  to  issue  a  circular  calling  for  the 
donations,  and  in  giving  that  permission  it  was  his  intention  to  extend 
the  same  consideration  to  District  11. 

After  giving  this  matter  due  thought,  he  is  of  the  opinion  that  a 
joint  circular  should  be  issued  by  both  districts,  calling  for  the  donation 
of  funds,  the  same  to  be  sent  to  all  lodges  thru  the  department  of  the 
G.  S.  T.,  as  called  for  by  Sec.  16,  page  40,  of  the  constitution  that  it  was 
not  his  intentions  in  any  way  to  give  consent  for  the  appeal  for  funds 
outside  of  the  foregoing  constitutional  provision. 

He  further  desires  me  to  say  that  the  disqualifications  of  Brother 
Person  from  acting  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  District  21  some  time  ago 
has  not  been  canceled,  so  that  he  is  unable  to  understand  why  a  circular 
should  be  issued  calling  for  funds  to  be  sent  to  Brother  Person. 

He  desires  it  clearly  understood  that  the  G.  L.  will  accept  no  respon- 
sibility for  any  business  transacted  with  Brother  Person,  contrary  to 
the  instructions  of  the  G.  L. 

I,  therefore,  trust  that  an  effort  will  be  made  to  get  together  on  a 
joint  appeal  to  our  association  for  funds  to  help  carry  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     GEORGE  PRESTON, 

G.  S.  T. 


We  have  got  the  law  from  Washington.  And  we  find  that 
President  Johnston  is  shrewd  enough  to  shove  it  over  to  Secre- 
tary George  Preston.  We  also  find  that  permission  to  solicit 
funds  had  been  given  to  Secretary  Newman  of  District  No.  21, 
and  there  are  no  objections  to  the  co-operation  of  the  two  dis- 
tricts. If  such  was  a  good  proposition,  why  did  not  Mr. 


236  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Johnston  or  Mr.  Preston  inaugurate  this  two  years  before,  or 
at  the  inception  of  the  strike?  Do  labor  leaders  have  to  be 
told  by  someone  from  the  ranks  the  way  to  get  the  best  results  ? 
If  the  co-operation  of  the  two  machinists'  districts  in  the 
handling  of  the  strike  or  in  soliciting  funds  for  the  strike  will 
bring  about  better  results,  than  if  such  funds  are  solicited  by 
the  individual  districts,  independent  of  the  other,  would  not, 
then,  the  co-operation  of  all  districts  comprising  all  crafts  on 
strike  bring  about  still  greater  results?  Of  course,  it  would, 
and  that  is  the  Federation  and  the  very  thing  Hawver  and 
Scott  had  in  mind  when  they  submitted  the  proposition  to  Sam- 
uel Grace. 

When  John  Scott,  Secretary  of  the  Railway  Department, 
and  Hawver  drew  up  the  proposition  and  sent  it  to  Sam  Grace, 
I  was  not  consulted,  and  did  not  want  to  be,  but  they  knew  that 
anything  that  they  agreed  on  which  was  in  compliance  with 
federate  law  could  be  laid  at  my  door  and  I  would  do  my  very 
best  to  materialize  it. 

I  had  no  further  desire  than  to  do  something  when  the 
rest  of  them  failed  to  do  anything,  and  my  records  will  sub- 
stantiate this. 

My  records  are  clear  and  will  stand  the  closest  investiga- 
tion. Mr.  Wharton  has  letters  on  file  in  his  office  from  me,  in 
which  I  told  him  that  if  the  Railway  Department  would  take 
over  the  handling  of  the  strikes,  solicit  funds  and  by  this 
method  inaugurate  the  best  possible  results  of  federation,  by 
co-operating  the  movement  between  the  two  roads  on  strike, 
the  Illinois  Central  men  stood  ready  to  turn  their  Federation 
over  to  the  department,  and  I  stood  ready  to  serve  them  at 
no  expense  as  a  janitor  or  in  any  other  capacity,  and  that 
there  would  only  be  one  understanding,  and  that  was,  they  had 
to  "DELIVER  THE  GOODS." 

There  is  still  another  point  to  cover  in  Preston's  letter  to 
Sam  Grace,  wherein  he  quoted  from  the  constitution,  "that  all 
money  must  be  sent  through  the  Grand  Lodge."  That  is  as 
false  as  it  is  misleading.  Have  we  not  proven  that  the  money 


AWAKENING  OF  OMAHA  SAM  237 

went  to  THE  GRAND  LODGE  AND  NOT  THROUGH 
THE  GRAND  LODGE?  You  can  turn  back  and  get  all  the 
evidence  you  please  to  substantiate  this. 

But  you  will  say,  maybe  the  Grand  Lodge  had  changed 
and  is  no  longer  confiscating  the  strikers'  funds.  If  this  is 
the  case,  I  win,  for  what  caused  them  to  quit  confiscating  the 
strikers'  funds  ?  The  fight  we  put  up  in  the  district  against  the 
Grand  Lodge?  The  publicity  on  this  subject  in  the  Strike 
Bulletin?  The  circular  letters  that  the  Grand  Lodge  said 
were  unauthorized?  Or  what  did  cause  them  to  discontinue 
confiscating  the  funds  of  the  "war  babies"  at  this  time  ?  Did 
Mr.  Johnston  and  his  Executive  Board  by  accident  drop  in 
to  hear  Billy  Sunday  when  he  was  discussing  the  subject  of 
confiscation?  What  had  taken  place? 

There  were  no  available  records  to  show  that  they  had 
discontinued  the  confiscation,  and  therefore  it  was  a  capital 
idea  to  get  a  joint  circular  out  from  District  21  and  District 
11.  The  Grand  Lodge  approve  of  it  and  have  the  money 
routed  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  There  it  would  stay,  and  the 
only  funds  that  could  be  received  from  it  would  be  the  wages 
that  the  strikers  were  getting,  which  was  six  and  eight  dollars 
per  week.  And  in  this  I  speak  from  experience  and  from  the 
blue-prints  of  a  fight  that  had  been  fought  and  fought  hard. 


PART  IV 

GRAND  LODGE  OFFICERS  AND  THEIR 
EMISSARIES  AT  WORK  IN  VARIOUS 
CHANNELS  AGAINST  THE  FEDERA- 
TION, AND  EVENTUALLY  DECLARE 
THE  STRIKE  OFF  AGAINST  THE 
WISHES  OF  THE  MEN  INVOLVED 

FORCES  LEADING  TO  U.  S.  INVESTIGATION 

The  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Line  strike  was  one 
of  the  oldest  strikes  in  existence,  when  the  government  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  investigate  industrial  disputes,  but 
for  some  reason  there  was  nothing  done  as  far  as  making  an 
investigation  of  the  railroad  strikes  up  to  November,  1913, 
and  there  were  no  successful  efforts  made  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  to  have  the  commission  take  up  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  strikes.  In  October,  1913,  I  consulted  Attor- 
ney Frank  Comerford  of  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  having 
him  take  a  trip  to  Washington  and  call  on  the  commission 
and  there  place  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  mat- 
ter before  them.  It  happened  that  the  convention  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  was  to  take  place  in  Seattle 
in  November,  1913,  and  both  Mr.  John  A.  Lennon  and  James 
O'Connell,  labor  members  on  the  commission,  would  be  at  this 
convention  at  Seattle.  The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  of  the 
organizations  who  had  jurisdiction  of  the  men  on  strike  would 
also  be  there.  Therefore,  Seattle  was  picked  as  the  appro- 
priate place  to  take  up  this  matter  and  see  if  it  could  not  be 
placed  before  the  commission. 

Attorney  Frank  Comerford  went  to  the  Seattle  convention 

239 


240  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

to  represent  the  men  on  strike,  consulted  with  the  Grand  Lodge 
Presidents  and  Messrs.  O'Connell  and  Lennon  of  the  commission. 
Comerford  made  a  speech  concerning  the  Illinois  Central  and 
the  Harriman  Lines  strike  before  the  convention,  in  which 
he  outlined  his  plans  for  making  an  investigation  of  the  strike. 
The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Comerford,  with  his  plan 
of  taking  the  strike  before  the  commission  is  the  best  informa- 
tion available  on  this  subject.  Therefore,  let  us  read  the 
following : 

CHICAGO,  October  9,  1913. 

My  Dear  Person:  In  compliance  with  our  recent  conference  in 
Chicago  I  have  drafted  my  plan  to  take  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman Lines  strike  to  the  commission  of .  Industrial  Relations.  I  am 
enclosing  a  copy. 

Sincerely  yours, 

FRANK  COMERFORD. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  On  September  30,  1911,  the  shopmen  of 
the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Harriman  Lines  were  "locked  out"  by  the 
companies  because  they  refused  to  abandon  their  inalienable  right  to 
treat  with  their  employers  as  a  system  federation.  Forty  thousand 
men  surrendered  their  jobs  rather  than  abandon  their  rights  as  free 
men.  The  struggle  is  now  nearly  two  years  old  and  it  can  be  said  with 
great  credit  to  the  loyalty  of  these  men  that  less  than  5  per  cent  have 
surrendered  and  gone  back  to  their  places. 

A  bill  creating  an  Industrial  Relations  Commission  was  passed  by 
the  Sixty-second  Congress. 

On  June  26,  1913,  President  Wilson  appointed  the  commission  under 
this  law.  This  body,  called  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations, 
is  directed  to  inquire  into  the  general  condition  of  labor  in  the  United 
States  and  especially  in  the  existing  relations  between  employers  and 
employes  in  which  the  business  is  carried  on  in  corporate  form.  The 
commission  is  given  power  to  subpoena  witnesses  and  compel  attend- 
ance. The  commission  is  directed  to  report  the  facts  adduced  with  its 
findings  and  conclusions  of  the  commission  to  Congress. 

Publicity  is  the  greatest  power  in  America  today.  The  industrial 
combinations  recognize  this  fact  and  have  as  a  part  of  their  equipment 
a  publicity  department.  When  the  situation  broke  on  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Lines  two  years  ago  these  corporations  recognized 
this  fact  and  used  space  in  the  large  newspapers  of  the  cities  in  the 
strike  zone  to  place  before  the  public  their  side  of  the  case.  The  cost 
of  this  was  enormous.  The  labor  organizations  involved  could  not  meet 
this  challenge.  They  did  not  have  the  money. 

It  is  my  plan  to  place  the  entire  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  controversy  before  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations  by 
filing  a  petition  asking  the  convening  of  the  commission  and  the  holding 
of  an  inquiry.  The  first  case  tried  by  this  new  commission  will  attract 
universal  public  attention.  The  happenings  before  the  commission  will 
have  a  news  value  that  will  compel  the  public  prints  of  the  country  to 


FORCES  LEADING  TO  INVESTIGATION      241 

give  the  facts  to  the  people.  Then,  too,  the  facts  and  the  conclusions 
and  findings  of  the  commission  are  to  be  reported  to  Congress.  This 
will  bring  the  entire  situation  directly  to  the  attention  of  the  people 
of  the  country,  and  to  our  official  representatives  in  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  advantage  of  making  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  case  the  first  subject  to  be  inquired  into  by  this  new  commission 
is  plain.  The  first  case  will  be  the  tryout  of  this  experiment  and  will 
be  in  the  nature  of  a  precedent  maker. 

We  can  gather  and  prepare  and  present  evidence  that  will  startle 
the  American  people. 

First,  we  can  show  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  is  a 
corporation.  That  a  corporation  is  an  organization  of  dollars.  That 
the  law  of  the  State  of  Illinois  gave  dollars  the  right  to  organize  into 
the  corporation  known  as  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad;  that  under  the 
terms  of  the  charter  issued  by  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company,  the  State  of  Illinois  is  the  partner  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company.  That  the  State  of  Illinois  participates  in 
the  revenues  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  that  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  ex-officio  a  director  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company.  This  is  a  participation  in  the  management 
of  the  Illinois  Central  by  the  State  of  Illinois.  That  these  facts  establish 
a  partnership,  both  in  law  and  in  common  sense. 

Second,  that  the  Illinois  Central  situation  is  not  a  "strike."  That 
it  is  a  "lockout."  There  was  no  controversy  between  the  men  and  the 
company  as  to  terms  of  employment,  etc.;  that  the  shopmen  went  to  the 
company  in  a  committee  to  treat  with  the  company  concerning  their 
contract  of  employment.  That  the  committee  represented  an  organiza- 
tion of  all  the  shop  crafts  on  the  Illinois  Central,  called  the  System 
Federation;  that  the  officials  of  the  company  refused  to  treat  with  these 
representatives  of  the  men;  that  they  insisted  that  the  shopmen  did  not 
have  a  right  to  organize  into  a  System  Federation;  that  the  men  were 
given  the  choice  of  either  surrendering  their  inalienable  right  to  organize 
into  effective  and  logical  form  or  to  quit  their  jobs;  that  the  men  were 
compelled  to  quit  their  jobs. 

Third,  we  want  to  know  if  the  State  of  Illinois  as  a  sovereign  state 
in  the  republic,  the  creator  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
and  under  the  law  the  partner  of  the  Illinois  Central,  is  dealing  fairly 
with  American  citizens,  when  it  sanctions  and  approves  the  stand  taken 
by  its  partner,  the  Illinois  Central,  denying  to  American  citizens  the 
right  to  organize — a  right  that  under  the  law  it  freely  gives  to  dollars? 

Fourth,  we  can  show  the  number  of  wrecks  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  since  the  date  of  the  "lockout."  We  can  prove  that 
these  wrecks  were  the  result  of  deterioration  in  the  rolling  stock  of  the 
roads,  due  to  the  employment  of  unskilled  and  incompetent  men,  who 
have  taken  the  places  of  the  "locked  out"  employees.  We  can  suggest 
the  danger  to  the  traveling  public.  We  can  list  the  wrecks,  the  dead 
and  the  wounded. 

Fifth,  we  can  show  the  methods  employed  by  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  after  the  "lockout."  How  advertisements  were 
placed  in  the  papers  luring  mechanics  to  these  roads  without  informing 
them  that  a  labor  difficulty  existed  there.  Without  going  into  the  details 
of  this  subdivision  of  our  proof,  it  becomes  apparent  that  this  abuse 
can  be  exposed  in  a  way  that  will  result  in  a  far-reaching  remedy. 

Sixth,  we  can  show  that  the  Illinois  Central  as  a  common  carrier 


242  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

is  bound  under  the  Federal  law  to  furnish  all  the  cars  required  by 
its  shippers  and  that  its  failure  to  comply  with  this  legal  duty  made  it 
responsible  to  the  shippers  in  damages.  We  can  show  that  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  and  no  doubt  the  other  companies,  failed 
to  supply  cars  for  shippers  along  its  lines  and  that  as  a  result  mines 
were  closed  down,  labor  thrown  out  of  employment,  business  interfered 
with  and  industry  paralyzed.  On  March  28,  1913,  a  suit  was  started 
against  the  Illinois  Central  by  the  Southern  Illinois  Coal  &  Coke  Com- 
pany, asking  damages  to  the  extent  of  $200,000,  because  of  the  Illinois 
Central's  failure  to  supply  its  mines  in  southern  Illinois,  known  as  the 
"Oakridge"  and  "Hemlock,"  with  sufficient  cars.  We  can  show  that  in 
Kentucky  the  River  Rail  Coal  &  Coke  Company  recovered  damages  in 
a  large  amounF  against  the  Illinois  Central  and  that  the  verdict  of  guilty 
against  the  Illinois  Central  was  affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  Kentucky  in  the  150  Southwestern  Reporter,  page  631.  We 
can  show  that  while  the  coal  operator  who  is  not  furnished  cars  has  in 
the  law  a  remedy  for  the  damage  done  to  him  because  he  is  compelled 
to  close  down  his  mine,  the  men  who  are  thrown  out  of  work  have  no 
legal  remedy  for  the  damage  done  to  them.  We  can  show  that  the  busi- 
ness men  of  the  small  towns  have  suffered  because  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  "locked  out"  its  employees  and  because  these  lines 
failed  in  their  legal  duties  to  the  public. 

Seventh,  we  can  show  the  financial  condition  of  the  large  owners  of 
the  stock  of  the  Harriman  Lines  and  the  Illinois  Central.  The  men  who 
control  these  companies  are  millionaires.  We  can  show  that  the  men 
who  worked  for  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  are  American 
citizens  who  depend  upon  their  pay  envelopes  to  carry  out  their  obliga- 
tions to  their  wives  and  families.  We  can  show  that  religion,  government 
and  nature  tell  working  men  to  marry;  that  they  obey  and  as  a  result  of 
their  marriage  bring  into  the  world  children;  that  it  is  their  duty  to 
shelter,  clothe,  feed  and  educate  their  children  and  to  maintain  and  care 
for  their  wives.  That  the  working  man  has  but  one  means  of  carrying 
out  this  responsibility;  it  is  his  wage.  He  has  but  one  thing,  and  that 
is  his  ability  to  work.  That  if  his  pay  envelope  is  not  large  enough  to 
make  good  his  responsibility  to  his  wife  and  children  he  becomes  bank- 
rupt and  that  his  bankruptcy  means  the  insolvency  of  society.  That 
he  cannot  beg,  because  begging  is  prohibited  by  law  and  is  a  crime 
called  vagrancy;  that  he  cannot  steal,  because  stealing  is  prohibited  by 
law  and  is  a  crime  called  larceny;  that  he  cannot  abandon  his  wife  and 
children,  because  wife  and  child  abandonment  is  a  crime  prohibited  by 
law;  that  he  cannot  kill  his  wife  and  children,  because  that  is  prohib- 
ited by  law;  that  he  cannot  prevent  his  children  coming  into  the  world, 
because  that  is  a  crime  prohibited  by  law;  that  unless  his  pay  envelope 
is  large  enough  to  meet  his  moral  and  social  duties  to  his  wife  and 
children,  starvation,  child  labor,  unhappiness  and  a  great  many  other 
social  by-products  are  the  result. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  strict  rules  of  evidence  governing  the 
admissibility  of  testimony  in  courts  of  law  will  not  control  the  procedure 
of  this  commission,  we  will  be  able  to  get  all  the  facts  showing  the  human 
side  of  this  controversy.  These  are  the  facts  that  in  my  judgment  must 
be  given  to  the  public  mind  divorced  from  any  connection  with  partisan 
politics  or  political  programmes.  If  given  to  the  public  mind  through 
this  commission  a  public  opinion  beneficial  to  the  cause  of  the  labor 
movement  will  result.  The  Harriman  Lines  and  the  Illinois  Central 


FORCES  LEADING  TO  INVESTIGATION      243 

situation  and  the  experiment  of  this  new  commission  create  an  unusual 
opportunity  to  focus  public  attention  upon  the  relation  of  the  average 
toiler  and  the  average  big  industrial  corporation.  We  can  prove  that 
big  business  needs  ethics  and  that  captains  of  industry  need  ideals,  if 
we  are  to  conserve  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  citizenship  of 
America. 

I  therefore  urge  a  meeting  of  the  International  Presidents  repre- 
senting the  crafts  involved  in  the  "lock-out"  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  at  a  very  early  date.  I  shall  be  glad  to  present  my 
plan.  Time  is  very  important.  It  is  the  essence  of  my  plan.  I  do  not 
need  to  urge  the  importance  of  having  this  cause  the  first  cause  heard 
by  the  new  commission.  The  advantage  in  a  publicity  sense  is  self-evident. 
I  have  presented  my  plan  to  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Carmen  of 
America  at  their  12th  convention  held  in  Milwaukee  a  few  weeks  ago  and 
to  the  Illinois  Central  System  Federation.  The  Brotherhood  Railway 
Carmen  Convention  approved  of  the  plan,  although  no  action  was  taken. 
I  did  not  ask  action  by  the  convention  because  I  wanted  to  keep  the 
matter  from  general  public  attention  until  it  could  be  taken  up  and 
the  plan  worked  out.  The  System  Federation  on  the  Illinois  Central  is 
enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the  plan. 

This  letter  is  being  sent  to — 

President  Ryan  of  the  B.  R.  C.  of  A. 

President  Johnston  of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists. 

President  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers. 

President  Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths. 

President  Carrigan  of  the  Railway  Clerks. 

President  Hedrick  of  the  Painters  and  Decorators. 

Secretary  John  E.  Bray  of  the  sheet  Metal  Workers,  and 

President  John  J.  Fitzpatrick  of  the  Federal  Labor  Union. 

I  am  directed  by  the  officers  of  the  System  Federation  to  ask  your 
early  consideration  of  .this  proposal  and  the  arrangement  for  a  meeting 
of  the  International  Presidents  above  mentioned  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment. 

With  best  wishes,  Yours  sincerely, 

FRANK  COMERFORD. 


The  following  is  my  reply  to  Mr.  Comerf ord : 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  Oct.  16,  1913. 

Dear  Comerf  ord:  Your  letter  received  and  enclosure  carefully 
noted.  If  you  are  loyally  backed  by  the  International  officers  an  investi- 
gation of  this  strike  by  the  commission  will  open  the  eyes  of  the  people 
and  benefit  the  entire  labor  movement.  I  have  talked  the  matter  over 
with  a  number  of  men  and  have  written  to  others  at  different  points, 
and  everywhere  I  find  that  the  men  on  strike  appreciate  the  service  you 
are  rendering  them  and  their  cause. 

I  understand  that  the  A.  F.  of  L.  Convention  will  take  place  some 
time  next  month  in  Seattle.  The  International  Presidents  will  of  course 
be  there.  In  order  to  get  our  case  before  the  commission  as  soon  as 
possible  you  should  go  to  Seattle  for  the  convention  and  get  a  confer- 
ence with  the  International  officers  of  the  crafts  involved  in  this  strike. 


244  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

If  you  cannot  arrange  for  an  immediate  conference  with  the  Inter- 
national Presidents,  we  cannot  look  for  any  rapid  action  in  getting  our 
case  before  the  commission;  therefore,  give  my  suggestion  regarding  the 
Seattle  convention  full  consideration. 

Respectfully  yours, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 


Mr.  Comerford  replied  as  follows: 

CHICAGO,  Oct.  18,  1913. 

My  Dear  Person:  Most  of  the  International  Presidents  from  whom 
I  have  heard  seem  to  be  in  favor  of  the  plan  to  take  the  strike  situation 
before  the  Industrial  Relations  Commission.  The  Railway  Employees' 
Department  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  will  meet  in  Seattle 
on  Nov.  8th.  The  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  opens 
on  Nov.  10th.  If  this  matter  is  to  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
Industrial  Relations  Commission  definite  work  must  be  started  at  once. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  make  an  application  to  the  commission  for  a 
hearing  and  to  arrange  a  plan  of  procedure  and  secure  proof  of  our 
claims.  Up  to  date  I  have  been  unable  to  secure  anything  from  the 
International  Presidents  except  words  of  approval.  It  will  require 
money  to  do  the  work  before  us.  The  investigations  we  will  be  required 
to  make  must  be  paid  for.  .1  am  willing  to  donate  my  time  to  the  men 
on  strike,  but  I  cannot  afford  to  give  up  my  practice  and  at  the  same  time 
finance  an  investigation  of  the  strike  situation. 

I  agree  with  you  that  it  would  be  of  advantage  to  present  this 
matter  to  the  General  Presidents  in  Seattle  and  later  present  it  to  the 
delegates  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  convention  assembled. 
The  railroad  fare  from  Chicago  to  Seattle  is  $106.  This  does  not  include 
Pullman  and  meals,  and  the  time  coming  and  gojng  will  amount  to  at 
least  a  week,  and  I  presume  I  will  be  compelled  to  stay  in  Seattle  about 
a  week.  During  this  time  my  expenses  and  loss  of  business  in  Chicago 
will  burden  me.  I  hate  to  take  anything  from  the  men  on  strike.  The 
International  Presidents  should  provide  the  expense  of  my  trip  to  Seattle 
if  I  am  willing  to  give  my  time,  but  they  show  no  inclination  to  do  this. 
If  the  men  on  strike  can  afford  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  trip  I  am 
willing  to  contribute  my  time  and  leave  for  Seattle  next  week. 

With  best  wishes,  Sincerely  yours, 

FRANK  COMEBFORD. 


To  which  I  replied : 

CLINTON,  Iix.,  Oct.  22,  1913. 

My  Dear  Comerford:  I  am  glad  that  you  will  make  the  trip  to 
Seattle  for  the  men  on  strike.  I  am  sure  you  will  leave  nothing  undone 
to  force  the  hand  of  the  International  Presidents  to  honestly  co-operate 
with  their  own  men  who  are  being  daily  deserted  by  the  very  official  that 
led  them  into  the  strike.  Enclosed  you  will  find  check  on  expense  account 
This  is  all  the  money  I  can  get  together  at  the  present  time,  but  will  be 
in  a  position  to  meet  whatever  the  balance  may  be  upon  your  return 
from  Seattle. 


FORCES  LEADING  TO  INVESTIGATION      245 

Of  course  the  men  on  strike  should  not  be  compelled  to  force  this 
issue  and  bring  about  the  investigation  your  plan  promises,  but  as  you 
know  from  your  experiences  with  the  International  officers  they  are  long 
on  approving  things  and  short  on  actually  getting  on  the  job.  These 
people  will  not  move  in  the  interest  of  the  men  on  strike  unless  they  are 
forced  to.  The  time  has  come  in  this  strike  that  if  we  must  expect  any- 
thing from  them  we  must  drive  them  to  it.  If  you  expect  to  get  results 
in  Seattle  or  any  other  place  in  relation  to  your  plan  of  taking  our  case 
through  the  commission,  then  go  to  Seattle  prepared  to  pull  off  some 
rough  stuff.  Start  eating  raw  meat  three  times  a  day  right  now,  and 
learn  to  speak  the  language  of  a  policeman's  club,  for  nothing  else  will 
wake  them  up. 

Depending  on  you  to  bring  back  results  for  the  men  on  strike,  I  am, 

Respectfully  yours, 

CARL  E.  PERSON. 


Let  us  further  hear  from  Mr.  Comerf ord : 

SEATTLE,  WASH.,  Nov.  11,  1913. 

My  Dear  Person :  I  have  presented  the  plan  to  the  Executive  Council 
of  the  Railway  Employees'  Department  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  and  some  of  them  object  to  the  plan  not  because  it  is  without 
merit  but  on  the  grounds  that  the  commission  will  not  give  us  a  hearing. 
To  me  this  seems  far  fetched.  If  the  plan  is  a  good  one  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  Executive  Council  to  use  its  influence  to  secure  a  hearing  before  the 
commission.  Surely  it  is  not  the  province  of  the  representatives  of  the 
strikers  to  anticipate  that  the  commission  will  deny  us  a  hearing.  This 
attitude  would  be  expected  on  the  part  of  the  railroad  company  officials 
rather  than  from  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents. 

I  have  asked  the  Executive  Council  to  secure  for  me  the  floor  at 
a  session  of  the  convention.  This  they  have  promised  to  do.  This  will 
afford  me  an  opportunity  to  present  the  matter  to  the  delegates  of  the 
general  convention.  Cordially  yours, 

FRANK  COMKRFORD. 

SEATTLE,  WASH.,  Nov.  16,  1913. 

My  Dear  Person:  I  have  presented  the  plan  to  the  convention  and 
I  have  had  another  meeting  with  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railway 
Employees'  Department.  They  now  promise  to  get  back  of  the  plan  at 
least  to  the  extent  of  asking  Mr.  Frank  Walsh,  the  Chairman  of  the  com- 
mission, for  a  hearing. 

I  am  leaving  for  Chicago  tonight. 

Cordially,  FRANK  COMERFORD. 


The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  and  members  of  the  com- 
mission with  Attorney  Comerford  agreed  at  Seattle  to  lay  the 
matter  before  Chairman  Walsh  of  the  commission.  Later  on 


246  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Comerford  and  Mr.  Kline  met  Mr.  Frank  P.  Walsh  in 
Chicago  and  outlined  to  him  the  case  and  urged  that  if  it  was 
within  the  power  of  the  commission  to  take  up  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  strike  for  to  do  so.  Mr.  Walsh,  unlike  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers,  did  not  raise  any  question  of  the  authority  of 
the  commission  hearing  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strike  case,  but  told  Comerford  and  Kline  that  the  com- 
mission would  be  glad  to  consider  the  application  for  a  hearing 
and  he  saw  no  reason  why  one  should  not  be  given. 

Comerford  laid  his  proposition  of  making  an  investigation 
of  the  strikes  before  the  1914  convention  of  the  Railway  De- 
partment and  it  was  acted  upon  favorably.  Here  preparations 
were  made  to  finance  the  cost  of  procuring  such  information 
and  evidence  as  was  desired  by  Comerford,  so  that  the  case 
could  be  placed  before  the  commission  properly  and  effectively. 
Shortly  after  this  convention,  a  Grand  Lodge  representative 
was  assigned  to  the  different  districts  in  the  strike  zone  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  evidence  and  data  which  would  be  of 
interest  to  the  men  on  strike  and  their  hearing  before  the 
commission. 

Later,  Mr.  Comerford  went  to  Washington  and  New  York 
for  the  Federation  and  conferred  with  Chairman  Walsh  and 
other  members  of  the  commission,  and  finally  brought  about 
the  investigation. 

The  commission  took  up  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strike  on  April  7,  1913,  and  the  records  of  the  investi- 
gation are  printed  in  Volume  10,  pages  9699  to  100066  inclu- 
sive of  the  Industrial  Relation  Report. 

The  commission  had  no  authority  under  the  law  creating 
it  to  write  a  judgment  in  favor  of  one  side  or  the  other,  but 
this  commission  in  its  public  hearings  was  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  and  the  facts  brought  to  light  were  important 
in  the  forming  of  public  opinion.  Had  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  gotten  back  of  the  men  on  strike  our  investigation 
would  have  been  held  by  the  commission  a  year  before  it  came 
to  trial  and  if  it  had  been  heard  a  year  earlier  it  is  my  opinion 


FORCES  LEADING  TO  INVESTIGATION      247 

that  the  financial  condition  of  the  railroad  companies  and  the 
condition  of  its  rolling  stock,  together  with  the  public  opinion 
of  the  time,  would  have  forced  the  railroad  companies  to  con- 
cede the  single  issue  involved  in  the  strike ;  namely,  the  right  of 
the  men  on  strike  to  deal  with  their  employers  on  a  collective 
basis. 

Our  evidence  will  now  substantiate  that  it  was  the  men  on 
strike  that  sent  Comerford  to  the  Seattle  Convention.  I  am 
adding  the  above  correspondence  to  the  records  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  this  home  clear  to  you.  Then  if  Mr.  Comerf ord's 
trip  to  Seattle  was  instrumental  in  laying  the  foundation  for 
the  investigation  that  eventually  came  up,  the  men  on  strike 
were  responsible  for  the  investigation  taking  place.  Mr.  Com- 
erford gave  the  Federation  the  time  that  it  required  to  make 
the  trip,  and  the  men  on  strike  took  their  last  dollar  from  their 
already  depleted  treasury  to  cover  the  expenses,  while  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  sat  idly  by  and  said  that  the  commission 
would  not  consider  an  investigation  of  the  strike. 

The  investigation  of  the  strike  brought  out  much  informa- 
tion that  even  startled  the  labor  movement.  Some  of  the 
serious  charges  made  by  the  men  on  strike  against  the  railroad 
companies  and  their  scabs  went  into  the  records  of  this  inves- 
tigation as  undeniable  facts.  Railroad  officials  and  labor  lead- 
ers took  the  stand  before  the  commission  and  added  their 
story  of  the  strike  to  the  records  of  the  investigation.  There 
is,  however,  one  important  connection  eliminated  from  the 
official  report  of  the  commission,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  the 
investigation  would  never  have  taken  place  had  it  not  been 
for  the  undying  demand  and  agitation  for  the  investigation 
carried  on  by  Mr.  Comerford  and  the  men  on  strike. 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers'  integrity  to  the  cause  and  prin- 
ciples of  federation  were  not  questioned  by  the  Federal  com- 
mission, but  I  have  proved  to  your  satisfaction  in  these  records 
that  they  were  greater  enemies  to  the  federated  movement  and 
that  which  is  called  the  law  of  collective  bargaining  than  any 
railroad  president  that  ever  served  an  American  railroad. 


248  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

THE  1914  CONVENTION  OF  THE  RAILROAD 
DEPARTMENT 

In  April,  1914,  a  convention  of  the  Railway  Department 
was  held  in  Kansas  City.  The  strikers  were  well  represented 
at  this  convention,  and  resolutions  that  had  for  their  purpose 
the  financing  of  the  strikes  were  introduced  and  carried,  but 
never  executed  as  far  as  financing  the  strike  was  concerned. 
(Reference,  minutes  Railroad  Employees'  Department,  April 
13-23,  inclusive.)  Those  who  wanted  the  strike  called  off  were 
also  there,  but,  after  looking  over  the  delegation  of  strikers, 
they  concluded  that  the  Kansas  City  convention  of  1914  would 
not  be  a  healthy  resort  to  introduce  a  resolution  calling  off  the 
strikes  in  progress. 

Resolution  No.  27  (reference,  page  137,  Minutes  of  Con- 
vention) was  introduced,  asking  that  the  convention  go  on 
record  as  being  favorable  to  the  five  per  cent  increase  in  freight 
rates  that  the  railroads  were  asking  for.  In  February,  1912, 
Mr.  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  had  told  Governor  Brewer 
of  Mississippi  that  out  of  the  $17,000,000  which  the  strike 
on  the  Illinois  Central  had  cost  him  up  to  date,  the  other  rail- 
roads had  reimbursed  him  with  $15,000,000,  and  therefore  the 
railroads  who  were  not  implicated  in  the  strikes  were  now  out 
asking  the  public  to  reimburse  them  for  the  money  that  they 
had  sent  to  the  managements  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines  for  the  purpose  of  fighting  organized  labor.  Mr. 
M.  F.  Ryan  and  all  the  other  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  in  their 
circular  letter  sent  to  all  local  lodges  under  date  of  March  11, 
1912,  state  "that  the  strike  was  costing  seven  million  per  month 
($7,000,000)  and  that  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  are  procuring  this  money  from  the  other  railroads" 
And  here  they  came  and  asked  a  convention  of  those  who  were 
persecuted  by  these  railroads  to  endorse  a  proposition  that 
would  not  only  reimburse  them  for  all  the  money  they  had 
spent  fighting  organized  labor,  but  would  give  them  additional 
funds  to  make  war  upon  organized  labor  in  the  future. 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  249 

The  Railroad  Company's  Resolution  No.  27  is  herewith 
quoted  in  full,  as  printed  in  the  minutes  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment convention  of  April,  1914,  and  reads  as  follows : 

RESOLUTION  NO.  27 
(Referred  to  Resolution  Committee) 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  April  15,  1914. 

To  the  Officers  and  Delegates  of  the  Railroad  Employees'  Department 
Now  in  Convention  Assembled  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.: 

We,  the  undersigned,  beg  your  most  careful  consideration  and  ap- 
proval of  the  following  resolution: 

WHEREAS,  The  subject  of  granting  a  five  per  cent  increase  on  freight 
rates  to  the  railroads  in  the  eastern  naif  of  the  country  has,  and  is,  a 
very  important  topic  and  one  which,  if  settled  favorably  to  the  railroads, 
will  probably  be  the  means  of  employing  thousands  of  those  who  are 
unemployed  at  the  present  time;  and, 

WHEREAS,  We  believe  that  the  opposition  being  made  against  the 
granting  of  this  increase  to  the  roads  mentioned  is  largely  conducted  by 
the  merchants  and  manufacturers  throughout  the  country,  composing 
employers  who  have  never  given  labor  anything  but  abuse,  and  who  have 
always  antagonized  and  crushed  organized  labor  at  every  opportunity; 
they  are  the  men  who  have  filled  our  mines  and  sweatshops  with  half- 
paid,  half-starved  men,  women  and  in  many  cases  children.  These  men 
give  more  care  to  their  mules  than  they  do  the  human  beings  in  their 
employ.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  shown  that  the  railroads  in 
general,  with  a  few  exceptions,  have  for  the  past  10  years  at  least  paid 
a  higher  rate  of  pay  with  better  working  conditions  to  their  employees 
than  the  men  who  are  now  opposing  an  increase  to  the  railroads ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  Under  the  system  that  we  are  now  living  it  behooves  the 
workers  to  secure  for  themselves  the  best  possible  rate  of  pay  and  work- 
ing conditions;  we  deem  it  advisable  to  go  on  record  as  favoring  this 
increase  to  the  railroads  on  the  grounds  that  we  can  continue  to  expect 
not  only  fair  treatment  but  better  pay  from  the  managements  who  have 
shown  fairness  to  the  many  thousands  of  our  members  on  the  railroads 
in  this  country.  The  present  strikes  we  now  have  on  some  roads  should 
not  prevent  us  from  endeavoring  to  assist  the  companies  that  are  friendly 
to  us.  Many  of  our  members  at  home  feel  that  the  time  to  assist  the 
railroad  companies  has  arrived  and  that  the  adverse  legislation  against 
the  railroads  has  got  to  a  place  where  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the 
railroads  has  increased  out  of  proportion  to  their  revenues,  and  that 
the  time  is  now  ripe  for  organized  labor  to  turn  the  guns  on  the  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  and  compel  them  to  do  business  with  as  much 
publicity  and  regulation  as  we  have  forced  on  the  railroads.  As  shops 
employes,  we  can  now  make  one  step  for  our  own  interests  by  copying  the 
action  of  the  Brotherhood  in  matters  of  this  nature.  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  convention  go  on  record  as  favoring  the  pro- 
posed five  per  cent  increase  in  freight  rates  to  the  railroads;  and  be  it 
further 

Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railroad  Employees' 
Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  be  instructed  to  draft  a  letter  and  same 


250  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

to  be  sent  to  the    Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  advising  them  that 
this  department  favors  the  granting  of  said  increase. 

GEO.  T.  MARTIN,  Machinist,  C.,  M.  &  St.  P. 

FELIX  EKLUND,  Machinist,  C.,  B.  &  Q. 

H.  W.  LIBBY,  Machinist,  C.  &  N.  W. 

J.  F.  AYLWARD,  Machinist,  A.  C.  L.  Federation. 

W.  K.  GOODYEAR,  Machinist,-  A.  C.  L. 

P.  S.  SMITH,  Sheet  Metal  Worker,  Rock  Island. 

I.  S.  EVAKS,  Boilermaker,  K.  C.  S. 

FRANK  MUNIER,  Machinist,  M.,  K.  &  T. 

H.  J.  CARR,  Machinist,  Rock  Island. 

MARTIN  F.  RYAN,  President  B.  R.  C.  of  A. 

O.  E.  HOARD,  Sheet  Metal  Worker,  M.  P. 

W.  A.  MANSEN,  Machinist,  C.,  M.  &  St.  P.  (Puget  Sound  Lines). 

H.  L.  COOLBAFGH,  Carman,  C.,  M.  &  St.  P.  (Puget  Sound  Lines). 

GEO.  W.  PRINO,  Boilermaker,  Rock  Island. 

JOHN  JOHNSTON,  Carmen,  C.,  M.  &  St.  P. 

JOHN  I.  CASS,  Carman,  C.  &  N.  W. 

S.  L.  WATTS,  Carman,  M.  P. 

Your  Committee  on  Resolutions  beg  leave  to  submit  Resolution  No. 
27  to  the  consideration  of  this  convention  without  any  recommendation. 

Delegate  W.  F.  Holley  of  Machinists  moved  the  adoption  of  the 
report  of  the  Resolutions  Committee.  (Seconded  by  Buhre  of  Black- 
smiths.) 

The  resolution  was  discussed  by  Vice  President  Farnam  of  Clerks 
and  Delegate  Thigpen  of  Carmen,  both  opposing  the  resolution. 

Vice  President  Hannon  of  Machinists  moved  to  table  the  resolution. 
(Seconded.) 

The  Chair  ruled  that  the  introducers  of  a  resolution  had  a  right  to 
speak  on  their  resolution  before  such  a  motion  could  be  entertained. 

President  Ryan  of  Carmen  spoke  in  support  of  the  resolution. 

Question  being  raised  as  to  the  Chair's  decision  on  the  motion  to 
table  by  permitting  debate  after  the  motion  was  made  and  seconded, 
President  Wharton  quoted  from  Roberts'  Rule  of  Order  to  sustain  his 
ruling,  and  Delegate  VanLear  detailed  a  precedent  which  had  been 
established  in  the  A.  F.  of  L.  Convention  by  President  Gompers  in  a 
similar  situation. 

The  resolution  was  further  discussed  by: 

Delegate  Carr  of  Machinists  (supporting). 

Vice  President  Pring  of  the  Department  (supporting). 

Delegate  Bonhain  of  Carmen  (opposing). 

Delegate  Eklund  of  Machinists  (supporting). 

Vice  President  Hoard  of  Sheet  Metal  Workers  (supporting). 

Delegate  Cundiff  of  Boilermakers  (opposing). 

Whereupon  the  convention  adjourned  until  2:00  p.  m. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  2  o'clock  p.  m.,  President 
Wharton  in  the  chair. 

Vice  President  Farnam  of  the  Railway  Clerks  asked  for  the  floor 
to  apologize  in  the  event  that  any  expressions  used  in  his  speech  at  the 
morning  session  had  wounded  the  feelings  of  anyone  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  question  he  was  discussing. 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  251 

President  Wharton  stated  that  the  question  before  the  house  was  the 
motion  to  adopt  Resolution  No.  27. 

The  resolution  was  discussed  by  Delegate  Forrester  of  Railway 
Clerks  (supporting). 

Delegate  Mallory  of  Carmen  (supporting). 

Delegate  Cooley  of  Machinists  (supporting). 

Delegate  Scopes  of  Machinists  (supporting). 

Delegate  Molloy  of  Machinists  (opposing). 

Vice  President  Gallagher  of  Carmen  (opposing). 

Machinist  Glenn  of  I.  C.  strikers  (permission  of  the  convention  being 
granted)  (opposing). 

Vice  President  Ames  of  the  Machinists  made  the  following  amend- 
ment: "That  this  convention  adopt  the  resolution  before  the  house  with 
the  following  understanding,  that  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railroad 
Employees'  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  if  possible,  meet  the  General 
Managers'  Association  and  assure  them  of  their  full  support  in  assisting 
the  railroads  in  getting  a  5  per  cent  increase  in  freight  rates,  provided 
they  give  us  as  a  whole  justice  and  fair  treatment  by  causing  a  settle- 
ment of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  Harriman  Lines,  Pere  Mar- 
quette  and  M.  O.  &  G.  strikes,  and  in  case  our  Executive  Council  receives 
a  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  General  Managers,  then  it  be  the  sense  of 
this  body  that  this  Railroad  Department  communicate  to  every  lodge  of 
every  craft  of  the  Railroad  Department  and  request  them  to  petition  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  refuse  an  increase  in  freight  rates 
until  all  railroads  of  this  country  treat  fairly  with  thtir  employes,  namely, 
the  Illinois  Central,  Harriman  Lines,  Pere  Marquette  and  M.  O.  &  G. 
(Seconded.)" 

Delegate  Sohner  of  Boilermakers  suggested  including  the  name  of 
the  Big  Four  road.  President  Wharton  stated  if  there  was  no  objection 
it  could  be  understood  to  include  all  struck  roads. 

The  question  was  further  discussed  by  Delegate  Somerville  of  Ma- 
chinists (opposing). 

Delegate  Perry  of  Machinists  (opposing). 

Delegate  Buhre  of  Blacksmiths   (supporting). 

Delegate  Collins  of  Carmen  (supporting). 

Vice  President  Nicholson  of  Machinists  (supporting). 

Delegate  Garvey  of  Boilersmakers  (supporting). 

Delegate  Molloy  of  Machinists  moved  as  an  amendment  to  the 
amendment  that  the  entire  subject  matter  be  referred  to  President  and 
Executive  Council  of  the  Department.  (Seconded.) 

The  resolution  was  discussed  by  President  Johnston  of  the  Machin- 
ists (supporting). 

Delegate  Dowling  of  Machinists  spoke  in  favor  of  the  amendment 
to  the  amendment. 

Delegate  Maes  of  Boilermakers  opposed  the  amendment  to  the  amend- 
ment. 

Delegate  Hicks  of  Carmen  moved  as  a  substitute  for  the  whole  that 
the  subject  matter  be  tabled.  (Seconded.) 

On  point  of  order  by  President  Franklin,  the  Chair  ruled  the  motion 
out  of  order. 

President  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  asked  for  an  expression  from  the 
Chair  on  the  resolution. 


252  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

President  Wharton  said:  "I  see  they  are  bound  to  put  me  on  record. 
I  am  not  going  to  call  the  Vice  President  to  the  chair,  because  I  am  not 
going  to  speak  very  long.  I  believe  the  question  has  been  discussed  very 
thoroughly  pro  and  con.  I  desire  to  present  the  following  for  your  con- 
sideration: I  venture  to  say,  if  we  would  poll  the  delegates  of  this  con- 
vention who  have  acted  in  the  capacity  of  Chairmen  or  members  of 
Agreement  Committees,  that  about  85  per  cent  of  these  men  would  tell 
you,  if  they  told  the  truth,  that  they  have  made  the  statements  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  have  told  you  they  have  made  in  the  last  few  conferences 
they  have  held.  Now,  I  don't  believe  we  have,  any  thing  to  fear  in  going 
on  record  in  favor  of  what  I  consider  one  of  the  fairest  industries  to 
organized  labor  that  we  have  in  this  country.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  make 
that  declaration.  I  have  made  it  in  other  places ;  I  will  make  it  here,  and 
I  will  make  it  after  I  leave  here,  that,  notwithstanding  the  fact  we  have 
had  fights  with  railroads,  we  must  still  remember  that  the  largest  per 
cent  of  the  men  of  the  organizations  represented  in  this  department  are 
working  under  agreements  in  the  railroad  industry.  Can  you  say  that  of 
the  representatives  of  the  Manufacturers'  Association,  who  have  for  the 
past  10  years  at  least  and  are  now  actively  engaged  in  opposing  every  bit 
of  labor  legislation  that  has  been  introduced  in  every  state  and  territory 
and  the  United  States  Congress?  They  have  spent,  if  we  know  anything 
about  it,  some  millions  of  dollars  in  defeating  every  piece  of  legislation 
that  has  been  introduced  that  is  favorable  to  organized  labor.  Right  in 
the  Strike  Bulletin  that  was  handed  around  today  you  will  find  an  item 
where  the  Manufacturers'  Association  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  I  be- 
lieve some  other  state  has  gone  out  and  tried  to  stop  the  appointment  of 
a  man  who  is  well  known  to  be  favorable  to  organized  labor  from  acting 
as  one  of  the  men  appointed  by  the  Industrial  Relations  Commission  to 
make  an  investigation  into  the  industrial  -discontent  of  this  country. 
These  men  have  spent  their  money  in  that  way,  we  all  know.  We  know 
further  that  we  owe  to  the  Manufacturers'  Association,  I  believe,  the  most 
damnable  system  that  has  ever  been  introduced  into  this  or  any  other 
country — the  spy  system.  Your  organizations,  and  you  know  it,  are 
loaded  with  the  paid  emissaries  of  the  Manufacturers'  Association.  These 
men  receive  their  salaries  from  funds  accumulated  by  members  of  that 
association  and  are  put  into  your  organization  for  the  special  purpose 
of  disrupting  your  movement.  As  between  the  question  of  voting  in 
favor  of  the  increase  for  the  railroads  and  standing  neutral,  which  would 
result  in  the  favor  of  forces  that  have  been  antagonistic  to  our  movement 
from  the  time  of  its  inception,  I  cannot  see  where  there  can  be  any  ques- 
tion as  to  the  honesty  of  any  man  who  gets  up  and  declares  his  convic- 
ttons  in  favor  of  an  employer  who  so  far  has  proven  of  all  large  indus- 
tries the  most  fair  to  the  members  of  these  trades." 

A  sufficient  number  calling  for  the  previous  question,  it  was  put  to 
vote  and  carried. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  lost. 

The  amendment  carrying  with  it  the  subject  matter  of  the  resolution 
was  put  to  a  viva  voce  vote,  and  the  Chair  being  in  doubt  asked  for  a 
vote  by  raising  of  hands,  which  resulted  after  count  by  the  Secretary,  as 
follows : 

Affirmative,  64  votes;  negative,  46  votes. 

The  Chair  declared  the  amendment  adopted,  carrying  the  subject 
matter  of  the  resolution  with  it. 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  253 

Delegate  Coley  of  Machinists  demanded  a  roll  call,  but  was  not 
joined  in  the  demand  by  a  sufficient  number  of  delegates. 

The  following  delegates  requested  to  be  recorded  as  opposing  the 
resolution:  S.  B.  Coley,  A.  R.  Gisslen  and  Thomas  Scopes. 

Wm.  Sohner  of  Boilermakers  desired  to  be  recorded  as  voting  in 
favor  of  the  resolution. 

The  resolution  committee  announced  that  they  had  completed  their 
report. 

Delegate  Libby  of  Machinists  moved  that  3  o'clock  Monday  afternoon 
be  made  special  order  of  business  the  matter  of  hearing  from  the  present 
status  of  the  strikes  on  the  various  roads  on  which  strike  is  now  pending. 

(Seconded  and  carried.) 

Whereupon  the  convention  adjourned  until  Monday  morning  April 
20,  1914,  at  9  o'clock. 

This  resolution  was  the  biggest  and  most  important  reso- 
lution before  the  convention.  It  took  up  more  time  and  its 
subject  matter  was  the  cause  of  more  extensive  debate  than 
the  strikes  in  progress  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines.  -  It  did  not  meet  with  any  serious  objection  until  a  well- 
groomed,  gray-haired  gentleman  by  the  name  of  S.  B.  Glenn, 
a  striker  from  Freeport,  111.,  who  had  come  down  for  the  con- 
vention on  the  rods  of  a  freight  train,  arose  to  the  floor  and 
spoke  in  opposition  to  ihe  motion  and,  after  an  eloquent 
speech,  quoted  railroad  statistics  from  the  Strike  Bulletin 
(a  paper  then  an  authority  on  railroad  statistics)  as  his  author- 
ity for  the  financial  condition  of  the  railroads,  and  the  amount 
of  money  they  were  spending  on  the  roads  on  strike  to  fight 
organized  labor.  The  resolution  finally  carried  by  a  vote  of 
54  for  the  motion  and  46  against  the  motion,  which  proved 
that  the  railroad  companies  had  more  delegates  at  the  conven- 
tion than  organized  labor,  for  they  jammed  their  legislation 
through. 

The  Johnston-Wharton-Ryan  machine  was  very  well  rep- 
resented as  supporting  the  Railroad  Managers'  Resolution 
No.  27.  The  only  available  records  anywhere  among  the 
official  families  of  the  Railway  Department  as  opposing  the 
Railroad  Managers'  Resolution  are  found  in  the  May  issue 
of  the  Blacksmiths'  Journal  for  1914,  which  can  best  speak  for 
itself,  and  reads  as  follows : 


254  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

BETTER  LET  THE  RAILROADS  FIGHT  THEIR  OWN  BATTLES 

The  Second  Biennial  Convention  of  the  Railroad  Department  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  has  passed  into  history  and  its  success 
will  depend  upon  the  sincerity  and  aggressive  activity  of  the  rank  and 
file,  as  well  as  the  officers.  The  Federation  adjourned  about  the  time  of 
our  going  to  press,  therefore,  we  will  be  unable  to  print  many  details. 
We  wish  to  say,  however,  that  we  believe  that  this  convention  was  an 
important  one,  as  our  constitution  has  been  changed  materially  and  the 
United  States  and  Canada  districted  so  that  each  district  will  be  man- 
aged separately,  while  at  the  same  time  the  department  will  have  general 
oversight. 

This  system  is  practically  the  same  as  the  resolution  passed  at  our 
last  convention  in  Sedalia,  and  we  believe  that  it  is  an  improvement. 
No  set  of  officers  will  be  successful  without  the  co-operation  of  those 
who  make  up  the  organization,  and  it  is  unfair  to  those  elected  to  office 
to  expect  them  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  organization  without  our 
hearty  co-operation,  and  I  hope  our  Brotherhood  will  try  to  keep  in 
close  touch  with  this  office,  so  that  the  International  official  who  is  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  department  may  do  his  part 
towards  making  the  department  a  success. 

Possibly  one  of  the  mistakes  of  the  convention  was  a  resolution 
introduced  by  several  delegates  favoring  a  petition  to  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  for  a  raise  in  railroad  freight  rates.  The  argu- 
ments both  for  and  against  undoubtedly  were  the  honest  sentiments  of 
those  who  expressed  themselves  along  that  line.  We  do  not  all  think 
alike.  There  is  an  argument  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  but  we  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  railroads  will  be  able  to  fight  their  own  battles, 
and  if  we  may  judge  by  the  horoscope  of  the  past,  they  will  get  all  that 
is  coming  to  them. 

With  the  railroads  on  one  side  appealing  to  their  employes  for 
assistance,  and  the  Manufacturers'  Association  on  the  other  doing  like- 
wise, the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  and  kindred  organizations 
intimidating  their  employes  politically  and  these  giants  striving  for 
mastery,  it  would  be  pretty  hard  for  a  general  officer  representing  the 
employees  in  these  combines  to  decide  just  how  to  vote.  However, 
workingmen  as  a  general  proposition  are  getting  better  treatment  from 
the  General  Managers  than  they  are  from  the  opposite  managements. 
At  the  same  time,  an  increase  in  freight  rates  is  taking  it  out  of  one 
pocket  and  putting  it  into  the  other,  for  the  interlocking  directorate 
controls  the  industries  of  the  country,  and  the  coin  finally  finds  its  way 
back  into  the  pockets  of  about  the  same  individuals. 

It  is  true  that  we  have  a  number  of  splendid  men  in  the  railroad 
business.  We  would  like  to  help  them  in  every  legitimate  way,  but  the 
same  interlocking  directorate  ties  their  hands  and  while  it  is  true  they 
would  favor  the  employees,  the  System  that  controls  them  sets  the 
limit.  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  was  appealed  to  in  California  in  the  interests 
of  his  employees  for  the  sake  of  their  wives  and  children  as  well  as  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  West,  but  he  persistently  and  absolutely 
ignored  the  interests  of  humanity  and  autocratically  refused  to  meet  his 
employees  jointly  for  the  purpose  of  transacting  their  annual  business. 
Therefore,  the  Harriman  managers  could  hardly  expect  their  employees 
to  work  themselves  up  into  a  frenzy  in  helping  their  railroads  to  a 
further  increase  in  freight  rates. 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  255 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  aroused  such  enthusiasm  among  their 
employees  in  Illinois  that  they  scrambled  into  a  train  and  were  taken  to 
Springfield  to  lobby  in  the  interests  of  the  Illinois  Central.  They 
returned  to  their  homes  and  scrambled  out  of  the  train  and  were  delighted 
with  themselves,  until  a  month  or  two  later  when  the  same  federated 
bunch  that  had  been  transported  to  Springfield  and  back  asked  the 
same  Illinois  Central  Railroad  for  a  federated  agreement  and  a  penny 
or  two  an  hour  advance,  and  they  were  told  by  the  Illinois  Central 
manager  (figuratively  speaking)  that  the  company  was  willing  to 
use  them  for  good  lobbyists,  but  they  were  opposed  to  putting  more 
bread  and  butter  into  the  pantries  of  their  employees.  Of  course,  we 
would  hardly  expect  that  the  employees  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road would  work  themselves  up  into  hysterics  in  favoring  a  raise  of 
freight  rates. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  who  has  an  everlasting  hatred  for 
trades  unions,  would  hardly  expect  what  few  union  men  they  have  to 
petition  the  Government  officials  for  a  raise  in  freight  rates.  And  so 
we  might  go  on  and  cite  many  cases  where  railroads  have  been  as 
tyrannical  as  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  There  are  a  good 
many  angles  to  this  question.  What  we  have  received  from  the  rail- 
roads has  not  been  given  us  voluntarily  by  any  means.  We  repeat, 
that  while  we  have  a  goodly  number  of  good  railroad  men,  they  are 
subordinate  to  the  bad  ones  and  unable  to  do  any  more  for  their 
employees  than  the  bad  ones  permit. 

A  resolution  from  the  Strikers'  Local  Federation  at  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  known  as  Resolution  No.  4,  requesting  the  Rail- 
way Department  to  finance  the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines,  was  introduced  at  the  1914  convention 
of  the  Railway  Department.  This  resolution  was  endorsed 
by  the  convention,  but  was  never  enforced  insofar  as  the  strike 
being  financed  by  the  Railway  Department. 

The  railroad  companies'  henchmen  were  also  at  this  con- 
vention with  a  resolution  to  call  off  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strikes.  After  they  had  sized  up  the  rebels, 
they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  convention  of  the  Railway 
Department  would  not  be  a  healthy  resort  in  which  to  intro- 
duce anything  that  had  for  its  purpose  the  surrendering  of 
the  principles  that  the  men  were  out  on  strike  for,  and  there- 
fore kept  their  already  written  and  prepared  resolutions  under 
cover. 

To  best  determine  the  forces  at  work  in  the  under-currents 
at  this  time,  insofar  as  declaring  the  strikes  off,  it  will  be  well 
to  mention  a  resolution  introduced  by  C.  T.  Nicholson,  Exec- 


256  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

utive  Board  member  of  the  Machinists,  at  the  Executive  Board 
meeting  of  the  Machinists  held  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1914;  (reference,  minutes  of  General  Executive  Board, 
I.  A.  of  M.,  January,  1914,  page  13). 

ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  AND  HARRIMAN  LINES  STRIKE 

The  International  President  stated  that  at  the  convention  of  the 
A.  F.  of  L.  several  resolutions  had  been  introduced  by  our  delegates 
urging  the  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  Commission  and  the  Industrial 
Relations  Commission  to  make  inquiry  into  the  status  of  the  strike; 
that  it  had  been  claimed  this  duty  was  somewhat  foreign  to  the  pur- 
pose of  the  commissions,  although  he  (the  International  President) 
pointed  out  that  they  had  made  similar  investigations  in  the  textile 
industries.  He  informed  the  Board  that  Brother  O'Connell  had  prom- 
ised to  do  the  best  he  could  in  our  behalf,  and  that  he  had  the  assur- 
ance of  President  Gompers  of  his  support  in  the  right  direction. 

The  question  of  this  strike  was  fully  reviewed  by  the  Board  in  all 
its  details,  especial  prominence  being  given  to  the  question  of  possi- 
bility of  success  and  the  futility  of  further  continuance. 

Brother  Nicholson  stated  that  he  had  a  resolution  drawn  up  which 
he  thought  would  cover  the  case,  and  submitted  the  following: 

WHEREAS,  The  Harriman  Lines  and  Illinois  Central  Systems  have 
been  on  strike  for  the  past  two  years,  and  that  we,  the  members  of  the 
G.  E.  B.,  are  continually  receiving  communications  from  our  members 
involved  at  different  points  on  both  systems  requesting  information 
in  connection  with  the  strike;  and 

WHEREAS,  Said  members  of  the  Board  were  not  in  position  to  fur- 
nish such  information,  and  believing  that  the  strike  has  been  dragging 
along  for  some  time  with  an  apparent  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
certain  of  the  organizations  involved  (outside  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.) ; 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  it  time  for  us  to  take  such  steps  as  may 
seem  best  in  handling  the  situation;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  International  President  be  instructed  to  take 
steps  at  once  to  bring  together  all  International  Presidents  of  all  crafts 
involved,  along  with  their  respective  general  executive  board  and  such 
vice  presidents  as  have  been  in  charge  of  the  strike,  together  with  rep- 
resentative strikers  from  each  organization  from  important  struck 
points ; 

That  all  of  the  foregoing  meet  at  some  central  point  and  go  into 
executive  session  and  there  devise  plans  to  either  put  new  life  in  the 
strike,  or  to  bring  same  to  an  early  conclusion." 

Resolution  adopted. 


It  will  be  well  to  note  that  Executive  Board  Member  Nich- 
olson had  prearranged  his  resolution  for  the  meeting  of  the 
Executive  Board  of  the  Machinists.  The  history  of  this  gen- 
tleman, as  taken  during  the  strike,  indicates  that  he  was 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  257 

always  strong  for  an  early  conclusion  of  the  strike,  even  to 
the  extent  of  prostituting  the  Machinists'  organization  in 
arriving  at  this  "early  conclusion." 

Mr.  Nicholson's  resolution  makes  an  important  exhibit  in 
the  records  because  it  substantiates  my  many  frequent  charges 
against  the  International  officers  and  organizations  involved 
in  this  strike  in  relation  to  the  charges  I  have  made  that  they 
took  no  interest  in  the  strike  from  its  inception,  insofar  as 
making  the  strike  effective  was  concerned;  that  they  did  not 
know  anything  about  the  strike  and  cared  much  less,  for,  as 
Mr.  Nicholson  states  in  his  resolution,  "that  we,  the  members 
of  the  G.  E.  B.,  are  continually  receiving  communications  from 
members  involved  at  different  points  on  both  systems  request- 
ing information  in  connection  with  the  strike;  and  whereas, 
said  members  of  the  Board  were  not  in  a  position  to  furnish 
such  information." 

Mr.  Nicholson  and  the  entire  Executive  Board,  including 
International  President  Johnston,  makes  this  admission  of 
ignorance  on  the  strike  situation,  and  in  the  resolution  admit 
that  here  in  January,  1914,  the  strike  is  a  dead  issue,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  they  were  employing  three  Business  Agents 
on  the  struck  roads  for  the  specific  purpose  of  keeping  Mr. 
Johnston  and  his  Executive  Board  informed  on  the  strike  sit- 
uation. For  this  service  paid  H.  J.  Molloy  as  Business  Agent 
on  the  Illinois  Central,  approximately  $7.929.11 ;  Samuel 
Grace,  Business  Agent  on  the  Union  Pacific,  $6,151.38;  and 
J.  G.  Taylor,  Business  Agent  on  the  Southern  Pacific, 
$2,849.12  for  services  rendered  during  the  the  strike  (refer- 
ence, General  Secretary  Preston's  financial  reports).  These 
Business  Agents  furnished  Mr.  Johnston  weekly  reports 
on  the  strike  situation  and  monthly  reports  for  the  Machinists' 
Journal. 

At  this  very  Executive  Board  meeting  in  January,  1914, 
Mr.  Nicholson,  as  well  as  the  entire  Board  members,  were  in 
possession  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  January,  1914,  which 
carried  a  report  of  the  strike  by  H.  J.  Molloy,  on  page  69, 


258  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

under  caption,  "Memphis,  Tenn.,"  in  which  he  stated  that  he 
had  made  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Champaign,  Urbana  and  Rankin 
— all  of  which  are  terminal  points  on  the  Illinois  Central — 
and  adds  that  the  railroad  company  is  up  against  it  with  its 
equipment  in  a  dilapidated  condition. 

In  the  same  issue  of  the  Machinists9  Journal,  Business 
Agent  J.  G.  Taylor,  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  says  on  page  73, 
under  caption,  "Sacramento,  Cal.,"  that  he  has  recently  made 
the  coast  terminals  of  the  struck  roads  and  that  as  far  as  the 
Southern  Pacific  is  concerned,  it  is  gradually  getting  worse. 

In  the  same  issue  of  the  Machinists1  Journal,  Vice  President 
Wm.  Hannon  states  on  page  46  "that  International  President 
Johnston  and  himself  addressed  mass-meetings  of  the  strikers 
at  Portland,  Ore.;  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah;  Oakland,  Cal.," 
these  being  the  largest  terminal  points  on  the  Harriman 
Lines. 

International  Vice  President  Anderson  stated  on  page  45 
of  the  same  issue  of  the  Journal  that  he  was  in  Chicago,  111., 
and  down  on  the  Illinois  Central  as  far  as  Kankakee  and 
Bloomington,  111. 

And  in  view  of  the  foregoing,  Mr.  Nicholson  sat  in  as  an 
Executive  Board  member  with  this  issue  of  the  Machinists' 
Journal  in  his  pocket  and  several  copies  on  the  table  in  front 
of  him,  confessing  that  he  had  no  information  on  the  strike 
situation.  International  President  Johnston,  fresh  from  his 
tour  of  the  large  terminal  points  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  in 
which  he  had  made  flowery  speeches  on  the  strike  situation, 
sat  there  and  said  nothing. 

The  Executive  Board  members  seemed  not  to  have  been 
possessed  of  enough  common  sense  to  look  in  the  Journal  for 
information  on  the  situation.  If  they  did  read  the  reports  in 
the  Journal,  written  by  their  own  representatives,  such  infor- 
mation must  have  been  accepted  by  them  as  doubtful,  and  not 
of  enough  reliability  to  render  to  those  whom  Mr.  Nicholson 
states  were  writing  in  to  the  Board  members  for  information. 
What  becomes  evident,  then,  is  that  they  had  several  kinds  of 


THE  1914  CONVENTION  259 

information  for  the  different  grades  of  membership — one  kind 
for  those  who  accepted  articles  in  the  Journal  as  the  truth, 
and  another  kind  of  information  for  those  that  wrote  directly 
to  the  Board  members. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  Molloy,  Taylor,  Hannon  and 
others  told  us  the  truth  in  the  January  issue  for  1914  of  the 
Machinists'  Journal,  as  well  as  President  Johnston,  when  he 
was  preaching  the  sermon  of  the  all  for  one  and  one  for  all 
to  the  boys  on  strike  at  Oakland,  Portland,  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  Seattle,  just  a  few  weeks  before  this  time,  then  the  strike 
was  very  much  of  a  live  issue  and  the  railroads  on  the  very 
verge  of  bankruptcy.  But  as  Board  Member  Nicholson  and 
his  associates  on  the  Executive  Board,  including  President 
Johnston,  refused  to  accept  any  of  this  information  (that  it 
cost  them  thousands  of  dollars  to  procure  through  their  rep- 
resentatives) as  being  worth  anything  insofar  as  dispatching 
it  to  those  who  were  writing  in  for  information,  Mr.  Nichol- 
son introduced  his  resolution  that  had  for  its  purpose  the 
securing  of  other  sources  of  information,  as  well  as  the  all- 
important  theme — the  early  conclusion  of  the  strike. 

The  Machinists'  Executive  Board  meeting  took  place  in 
January,  1914,  and  the  convention  of  the  Railway  Department 
in  the  following  April ;  therefore,  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Nichol- 
son's resolution  at  the  January  meeting  of  the  Board  was 
to  lay  a  foundation  for  a  well-prepared  and  oiled  machine  to 
be  on  the  grounds  at  the  April  convention  of  the  Railway 
Department.  Their  purpose  was  to  materialize  Mr.  Nichol- 
son's early  conclusion  of  the  strike  at  the  Railway  Department 
convention. 

As  Mr.  Nicholson's  resolution  states  that  no  other  organi- 
zations were  taking  an  interest  in  the  strike  but  the  I.  A.  of  M., 
then  the  other  organizations  affiliated  with  the  Railway  De- 
partment stand  convicted  by  Mr.  Nicholson  as  deserting  the 
men  on  strike.  I  have  already  proven  in  these  records  that 
the  sincerity  of  both  the  Machinists'  Executive  Board  and 
those  termed  as  "the  other  organization"  by  Mr.  Nicholson 


260  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

can  be  questioned,  we  are  not  concerned  any  further  than  to 
say  that  the  motive  back  of  Mr.  Nicholson's  indictment  against 
the  other  organizations  was  to  make  the  Machinists  believe 
that  they  were  the  only  organization  taking  an  interest  in 
the  strike,  so  that  the  Machinists  would  then  accept  a  craft 
settlement  of  the  strike  as  a  logical  and  early  conclusion  of 
same.  They  would  have  demanded  an  exclusive  Machinists' 
settlement  of  the  strike  or  give  it  up  as  a  lost  cause. 

And  this  well-oiled  machine,  full  of  deceit  and  corruption, 
was  conspicuous  at  the  Railway  Department  convention  in 
April,  but  for  reasons  best  known  to  themselves,  did  not  intro- 
duce their  resolutions  calling  for  an  early  conclusion  of  the 
strike.  To  this  end  they  could  not  have  feared  that  they  would 
not  have  sufficient  support,  so  far  as  delegates  were  concerned, 
for,  as  I  have  already  proven,  the  railroads  were  well  repre- 
sented there,  even  to  the  large  extent  of  jamming  their  freight 
rate  legislation  through.  Had  the  machine  introduced  its 
resolution  calling  for  an  early  conclusion  of  the  strike,  suf- 
ficient support  could  have  been  rallied  to  put  it  over  in  accord- 
ance with  their  constitution,  and  this  would  have  taken  place 
had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  anyone  who  had  been  foolish 
enough  to  take  the  responsibility  for  its  introduction  would 
have  fallen  out  head  first  from  the  windows  of  the  convention 
hall.  The  rebels  who  were  there,  while  but  few,  were  there  to 
take  extreme  measures,  if  necessary,  to  avoid  a  possible  sell- 
out at  that  time. 

For  the  reasons  as  outlined,  Mr.  Nicholson's  early  conclu- 
sions of  the  strike  were  not  materialized  at  the  April  convention 
of  the  Railway  Department,  and  what  is  more  important,  is 
the  fact  that  in  failing  in  this  respect,  his  substitute,  that  of 
inaugurating  new  life  and  action  in  the  strike,  was  given  no 
further  consideration.  Both  the  Machinists'  Executive  Board 
and  the  Railway  Department  were  short  on  injecting  new 
life  into  the  strike.  What  else  could  have  been  expected  from 
those  who  were  praying  for  its  early  conclusions  at  any 
price? 


A  ST.  LOUIS  CONFERENCE  261 

"A  ST.  Louis  CONFERENCE  WITH  MR.  WHARTON 

During  the  last  week  of  October,  1914,  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  President  of  the  Railroad  Department  (Mr.  Whar- 
ton),  requesting  me  to  come  to  St.  Louis,  stating  that  my 
expenses  for  the  trip  would  be  paid.  Mr.  J.  J.  Meagher,  who 
had  been  acting  Secretary  for  the  Illinois  Central  Federation 
since  December  30,  1913,  when  I  was  arrested  and  taken  to 
jail,  agreed  to  accompany  me  to  St.  Louis  for  this  meeting 
with  Mr.  Wharton.  Meagher,  who  is  a  shrewd  and  well-bal- 
anced individual,  thought  that  there  might  be  something 
started  within  the  chambers  of  the  Railway  Department,  and 
being  mindful  of  the  small  support  we  had  received  through 
it,  suggested  that  if  Mr.  Wharton  proposed  to  put  a  wet 
blanket  on  the  strike,  he  would  agree  with  whatever  the 
proposition  was,  but  I  should  stand  pat.  Had  we  both  taken 
the  stand  against  Mr.  Wharton,  he  would  have  given  up  before 
the  opportunity  had  presented  itself  to  "draw  him  out"  and 
get  the  sentiment  of  the  "inner  circle." 

We  met  Mr.  Wharton  in  his  office,  and  his  statement  to  us 
was  that  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Department  had  decided 
to  cut  off  the  strike  benefits  from  the  men  on  the  line,  but  it 
would  be  unjust  to  do  so  without  first  giving  them  an  oppor- 
tunity to  declare  the  strike  off,  if  they  so  desired.  In  order 
to  get  the  sentiment  of  the  men  on  strike,  they  had  decided 
to  take  a  vote  on  the  proposition,  as  well  as  inform  the  men 
that  their  strike  benefits  were  to  be  cut  off.  Mr.  Meagher 
asked  Mr.  Wharton  what  concessions  the  companies  had  made 
the  Department,  and  he  said,  "none  whatever.'9 

"If  the  companies  have  not  made  any  concessions,  why 
should  the  strike  be  declared  off,"  I  asked. 

"Well,  the  men  will  determine  this  by  taking  the  vote," 
replied  Wharton. 

Meagher,  now  mindful  of  our  agreement,  coincided  with 
Wharton  by  stating  "that  of  course  the  vote  will  determine 
this." 


262  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  said,  "If  the  Grand  Lodge  could  not  finance  the  few  men 
on  the  line,  they  can  desert  them  financially,  if  they  so  wish, 
but  to  cut  off  the  strike  benefits  was  nothing  but  a  wedge  used 
to  induce  the  strikers  to  declare  the  strike  off,  and  that  it  was 
no  doubt  the  desire  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  to  have  this 
done." 

"Well,"  said  Wharton,  "the  rule  of  majority  must  settle 
this  question;  it  must  be  settled  in  compliance  with  the  law 
of  democracy,  and  the  rule  of  those  that  are  affected." 

"Democracy  had  her  inning  on  the  30th  day  of  September, 
1911,  when  it  was  decided,  once  and  for  all,  by  the  men  them- 
selves, and  approved  by  the  International  Officer,  that  these 
men  or  officers  had  no  right  to  surrender  the  principle  that 
they  went  on  strike  for,  if  they  were  the  sacred  principles  of 
labor.  They  were  either  wrong  in  1911  or  they  are  dead  wrong 
now  by  even  asking  the  men  to  consider  such  a  proposition," 
was  my  reply. 

"What  do  you  think  of  it,  Meagher,"  said  Wharton. 

Meagher  said,  "I  think  you  are  justified  in  your  position." 

"Look  here,  Person,"  said  Wharton,  "here  is  Meagher, 
your  best  friend,  and  he  thinks  it  is  the  proper  thing  to  do." 
Then  he  turned  around  and  looked  me  squarely  in  the  face, 
leaned  over  and  said,  "We  have  stood  with  you.  The  Depart- 
ment has  gone  the  limit  for  your  defense.  If  it  hadn't  been 
for  the  support  you  received,  they  would  have  hung  you,  and 
you  know  it.  Now,  we  want  this  proposition  to  go  through, 
and  we  don't  want  the  men  swayed  one  way  or  the  other  by 
any  publicity  on  the  subject;  we  want  them  to  use  their  own 
cool  judgment,  and  they  will  decide  in  their  best  interests." 

Meagher  sat  there  playing  his  part  like  an  artist,  agree- 
ing with  Wharton. 

"My  defense,  Mr.  Wharton,  is  an  entirely  different  mat- 
ter,1' I  replied.  "If  those  that  subscribed  to  my  defense  fund 
did  so  with  the  expectations  that  I  should  surrender  my  best 
judgment  of  what  is  right  and  wrong,  I  am  indeed  very  sorry. 
I  had  burned  the  midnight  oil  for  the  cause  23  months  before 


A  ST.  LOUIS  CONFERENCE  263 

I  went  to  jail,  and  besides,  didn't  I  stand  my  ground  and 
defend  the  respectability  of  the  movement  when  the  scabs 
drove  in  to  drive  the  strikers  out  of  town?  I  am  sure  that 
those  who  subscribed  to  my  defense  fund  did  so  because  of  the 
service  rendered  them  up  to  that  time,  and  while  it  is  possible 
that  there  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion  among  these  sub- 
scribers on  the  subject  of  voting  on  the  strike  question  at 
this  time,  it  would  have  been  much  better  had  I  been  hung  for 
the  want  of  the  necessary  support  than  to  go  wrong  on  this 
proposition  now." 

"Oh,  there  is  nothing  you  can  go  wrong  on ;  just  keep  the 
noise  out  of  the  ' Bulletin,' "  said  Wharton,  and  added,  "You 
have  got  more  irresponsibles  writing  in  the  Bulletin  than  any 
paper  that  ever  existed ;  why,  that  man  Cundiff  in  Chicago  is 
as  crazy  as  you  are,"  he  said,  as  his  hand  came  down  on  the 
desk,  "and  the  reports  from  Oakland  and  Portland,  there  isn't 
an  issue  of  the  Bulletin  but  what  is  criminal  libel,  and  they 
don't  know  what  they  are  talking  about  when  they  say  things 
about  the  Grand  Lodge  officers." 

"The  Strikers'  Bulletin  belongs  to  the  men  on  the  line 
and  its  subscribers,  and  it  must  remain  as  a  medium  for  them 
to  express  themselves  in,  and  you  know,  Mr.  Wharton,  we 
labor  people  are  strong  for  free  speech,  and  free  press" 

"There  can  be  nothing  free  for  the  irresponsibles"  was 
Wharton's  sharp  reply,  and  added,  "An  editor  of  a  paper 
should  use  a  little  judgment  of  what  he  sends  out  to  his 
readers." 

"Yes,  I  understand,  Mr.  Wharton ;  you  think  that  I  should 
tell  those  that  write  in  the  Bulletin  what  they  should  say  and 
what  they  should  not  say,  and  if  they  say  something  that  I 
don't  believe  or  approve  of,  I  should  swing  it  into  the  waste- 
basket  and  write  them  that  there  is  nothing  doing  in  that  kind 
of  stuff,  because  it  is  not  my  religion,  politics  or  form  of 
unionism.  There  are  all  kinds  of  those  papers  and  journals  in 
the  labor  movement — 'the  kept  and  censored  press,'  which  are 
run  for  the  benefit  of  the  machines ;  in  fact,  there  is  no  more 


264  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

freedom  of  speech,  and  freedom  of  the  press  in  the  labor 
movement  and  in  labor  papers  than  there  is  anywhere  else. 
The  only  reason  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  lets  everybody  ride 
is  because  I  am  in  favor  of  an  open  press,  regardless  of  whom 
it  may  favor  or  disfavor.  I  have  gone  to  jail  twice  for  crim- 
inal libel  for  letting  those  ride  that  couldn't  take  a  ride  in  any 
other  paper,  and  I  will  go  again,  if  it  is  necessary  to  do  so, 
in  the  interest  of  a  free  press.  But,  Mr.  Wharton,  we  were 
talking  on  -the  strike  vote  proposition." 

"Yes,"  said  Wharton,  "if  the  strike  is  called  off,  we  can 
go  over  the  system  and  organize  the  strike-breakers,  and  we 
will  get  agreements  with  those  roads  again." 

Well,  I  said,  "Then  you  are  going  to  sacrifice  the  union 
men  that  put  up  this  fight  for  the  sake  of  getting  per  capita 
tax  from  the  scabs,  so  that  you  can  build  up  your  treasury. 
That's  a  fine  situation,  isn't  it?" 

"The  best  thing  to  do  is  to  declare  off  the  strike;  then 
union  men  can  get  a  job  on  the  roads,  and  in  a  short  time  we 
will  have  a  good  organization,  and  can  go  up  for  another 
agreement,"  said  Wharton. 

"Why  didn't  you  do  this  on  the  Santa  Fe,  the  L.  &  N., 
and  the  Great  Western,  with  some  of  the  other  railroads  where 
you  have  no  agreements  and  can  get  none?  If  it  is  the  sole 
desire  of  union  labor  to  build  up  their  treasuries  and  sacrifice 
all  principles  to  accomplish  this  end,  and  your  plan  as  outlined 
is  successful,  then  all  the  labor  leaders  should  be  discharged 
for  incompetency,  for  the  Santa  Fe  and  the  other  railroads 
will  speak  for  themselves. 

"Ten  years  since  you  people  went  up  there  and  surrendered 
everything  you  pulled  the  men  out  on  strike  for,  and  you 
(haven't  got  enough  union  men  on  either  of  these  roads  to 
turn  the  tires  for  a  switch  engine,  and  even  though  you  have 
no  agreements,  and  can  get  none.  Here  you  sit  and  try  to 
tell  me  that  you  are  going  to  organize  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines,  by  declaring  the  strikes  off.  Give  the  com- 
panies credit  for  having  some  sense;  they  have  not  spent  all 


A  ST.  LOUIS  CONFERENCE  265 

of  this  money  so  recklessly,  that  after  you  go  back  on  your 
knees  and  admit  that  you  are  licked,  that  they  will  let  you 
come  in  again,  knowing  that  your  intentions  are  to  build  up 
an  organization  and  go  after  them  again.  Nothing  doing! 
They  won't  let  you  in  in  the  first  place,  and  if  the  men  are 
yellow  enough  to  try  and  get  in  and  haven't  got  nerve  enough 
to  take  their  medicine,  even  though  they  cannot  lick  the  com- 
panies, then  I  am  done,  for  I  have  then  found  out  that  I  have 
stood  with  a  bunch  of  yellows  instead  of  union  men." 

"Well,  the  strikes  can't  be  won,"  replied  Wharton. 

"If  the  strikes  cannot  be  won,  then  let  them  be  lost,"  was 
my  reply.  "After  we  have  put  up  a  good  fight,  don't  ask  us 
to  make  any  apologies  by  declaring  the  strike  off,  for  this 
will  be  admitting  that  we  were  wrong  and  will  weaken  the 
labor  movement  on  the  other  railroads.  If  we  cannot  win, 
then  let  us  leave  the  lines  as  unfair  to  us  and  organized  labor, 
as  they  were  on  September  30,  1911,  when  the  International 
officers  said  that  we  would  wreck  their  organization  if  we  didn't 
go  out  and  put  up  a  fight  for  the  respectability  of  the  Fed- 
eration. We  have  now  done  all  this,  paid  the  price,  and  will- 
ing to  pay  any  additional  cost  of  the  proceeding,  but  the  price 
of  disrespect.  If  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Railway  De- 
partment is  now  going  to  crown  us  with  a  traitor's  tribute  for 
playing  the  part  that  we  willingly  and  honestly  played,  that 
you  may  go  into  the  ranks  of  those  that  you  once  pronounced 
traitors,  to  collect  the  "filthy  lucre,"  my  God!  where  are  your 
principles,  Mr.  Wharton?" 

"Your  young  and  foolish  Grand  Lodge  officers  know  what 
is  best  to  do,"  was  Wharton's  sharp  reply,  "and,  besides,  the 
strike  was  ill  advised." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "if  we  were  HI  advised  in  1911,  we  were  ill 
advised  by  the  very  same  Grand  Lodge  officers  that  are  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  advise  us  now.  That  being  true,  can  we  place 
any  dependence  in  them  now  ?  If  they  did  as  you  stated  make 
a  mistake  in  1911,  then  have  we  not  the  right  to  question 
their  integrity  and  judgment  at  this  time?"  (Meagher  was 


266  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

now  walking  the  floor ;  I  was  afraid  he  was  going  to  forget  his 
place,  but  he  didn't ;  he  played  the  part  of  a  regular  diplomat. ) 

"We  have  thousands  of  men  walking  the  streets,"  said 
Wharton,  and  continued :  "They  could  get  a  job  on  the  struck 
lines,  and  Sam  Grace  of  Omaha  is  willing  to  go  along,  as  well 
as  J.  G.  Taylor,  from  the  coast.  They  said  that  if  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  think  this  is  the  proper  way  to  do,  they  are 
willing  to  abide  by  their  judgment." 

"There  have  always  been  men  walking  the  streets  and  I 
assume  always  will  be,"  I  answered.  "There  were  men  walk- 
ing the  streets  in  search  for  work  when  we  were  advised  to  go 
on  strike,  but  there  are  less  men  on  the  streets  today  than 
there  have  been  for  a  good  many  years,  and,  further,  the  union 
men  on  the  streets  will  find  nothing  on  the  struck  lines,  even 
though  the  strike  is  declared  off,  for  you  can  depend  on  C.  H. 
Markham  and  Julius  Kruttschnitt  to  stand  with  those  that 
stood  with  them,  and  that  is  all  we  are  asking  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  that  we  stood  with.  Let  them  show  that  they  are 
as  true  to  us  as  Markham  and  Kruttschnitt  are  to  their  strike- 
breakers. But  from  all  indications  they  are  going  to  dump 
us,  and  if  they  do,  it  is  they  that  are  the  traitors,  and  I  know 
a  few  soldiers  on  the  line  that  cannot  be  induced  to  declare 
the  strike  off.  I  am  going  to  have  something  to  tell  them  in 
the  next  week's  issue  of  the  Strike  Bulletin;  further,  they  will 
have  the  opportunity  to  express  themselves  any  way  they  see 
fit  on  this  proposition  in  the  Strike  Bulletin,  just  as  they  have 
had  on  all  other  subjects  of  the  strike." 

"It  is  too  bad  the  men  could  not  be  given  a  chance  to  use 
their  best  judgment  on  this  vote,  without  being  influenced  one 
way  or  the  other,"  said  Mr.  Wharton. 

Then  Mr.  Meagher  and  myself  departed  for  home,  fully 
convinced  that  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  wanted  the  strike  called 
off,  but  inasmuch  as  they  have  always  preached  the  bible  of 
democracy  and  the  rule  of  the  majority,  they  could  not  declare 
the  strike  off  themselves,  without  demonstrating  that  they  ruled 
in  compliance  with  monarchy,  instead  of  democracy.  There- 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      267 

fore,  they  were  going  to  ask  the  strikers  themselves  to  relieve 
them  of  this  embarrassment  by  voting  to  declare  the  strike  off. 

THE  GRAND  LODGE  PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL 
ATTEMPT 

Something  had  taken  place  within  the  chambers  of  the 
Railway  Department  shortly  before  Meagher  and  myself  re- 
ceived the  invitation  to  call  on  Mr.  Wharton.  They  had  agreed 
that  the  strike  should  be  called  off,  but  decided  to  submit  this 
proposition  to  the  membership  involved.  There  was,  how- 
ever, one  matter  contained  in  this  proposition  that  the  Grand 
Lodge  Presidents  who  make  up  the  executive  council  of  the 
Railway  Department  decided  for.  themselves,  and  that  was 
that  all  strike  benefits  should  be  discontinued  at  once. 

No  one  outside  of  the  Railway  Department  was  aware  of 
what  was  to  take  place  until  the  proposition  was  mailed  to  the 
local  lodges.  Mr.  Wharton,  who  was  delegated  to  "break  the 
news  to  me,"  did  not  do  so  until  the  very  day  this  proposition 
was  placed  into  the  mails,  so  that  in  the  event  I  could  not  be 
induced  "to  come  along"  my  time  to  organize  an  opposition 
movement  would  be  as  short  as  possible.  Upon  my  return  from 
St.  Louis  after  the  conference  with  Mr.  Wharton  I  had  re- 
ceived a  circular  letter  setting  forth  the  proposition  as  sub- 
mitted by  the  Railway  Department,  which  I  introduce  herewith : 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 

Office  of  Grand  Lodge-^.04-407  McGill  Building 

OFFICIAL  CIRCULAR  No.  48 

WASHINGTON,   D.   C.,   October  31,   1914. 

To  ALL  OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  ALL  ORGANIZATIONS  INVOLVED  ON  THE 
STRIKES  ON  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL,  HARRIMAN  LINES  AND  PERE  MAR- 
QUETTE  RAILROADS. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  The  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harrknan  Lines  have  been  in  effect  since  September  30,  1911,  and  on  the 
Pere  Marquette  since  the  latter  part  of  May,  1913.  The  history  of  these 
strikes  is  replete  with  incidents  reflecting  great  credit  upon  the  thousands 
of  men  who  voted  to  withdraw  their  services  from  the  roads  mentioned, 


268  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

in  defense  of  the  principles  for  which  all  organized  labor  stands.  In 
all  great  struggles  many  sacrifices  are  made  and  much  suffering  endured, 
not  only  by  the  strikers,  but  those  who  are  dependent  upon  them.  The 
hardships  endured  and  sacrifices  made  emphasize  better  than  words 
can  portray  the  loyalty  and  tenacity  of  these  members  and  have  demon- 
strated to  the  highest  degree  the  justice  of  the  cause  for  which  they 
fought. 

Both  the  men  and  officers  have  at  various  times  been  severely  criti- 
cized for  things  that  were  done  or  not  done,  as  the  case  might  be.  This 
is  to  be  expected  when  men  are  involved  in  a  struggle  so  intensely  acute. 
We  have  learned  to  look  upon  these  expressions  with  tolerance  and 
forbearance,  knowing  that  better  judgment  will  prevail  when  the  par- 
ticipants have  had  an  opportunity  to  calmly  review  the  facts. 

No  man  placed  at  the  head  of  an  organization  ever  had  a  more 
unpleasant  duty  to  perform  than  that  of  conveying  to  the  membership 
the  information  that  we  have  reached  the  end  of  our  financial  resources, 
with  the  struggle  still  on. 

We  have  been  both  complimented  and  condemned  for  permitting 
these  strikes  to  continue,  with  no  apparent  or  tangible  reason  to  believe 
that  we  would  be  able  to  reach  a  satisfactory  adjustment.  Nothing 
that  honorable  men  could  do  to  bring  about  an  adjustment  has  been 
neglected  or  overlooked.  Facing  a  situation  of  this  kind,  with  thousands 
of  our  members  walking  the  streets  due  to  the  widespread  industrial 
depression,  and  no  prospect  of  conditions  improving  in  the  immediate 
future,  it  must  be  apparent  to  all  that  it  will  be  impossible  to  continue 
financial  assistance  under  these  conditions,  and  while  we  expect  criticism 
from  certain  individuals,  we  believe  that  the  great  majority  of  our  mem- 
bers will  agree  with  the  action  taken. 

As  much  as  we  regret  to  do  so,  it  now  becomes  our  duty,  not  only 
to  those  who  have  so  loyally  and  faithfully  remained  on  the  picket  line, 
but  to  the  many  thousands  of  our  members  who  have  been  morally  and 
financially  supporting  these  strikes,  and  in  so  doing  many  of  them  have 
been  compelled  to  suffer  the  passing  of  opportunities  of  benefiting  them- 
selves, because  our  organizations  could  not  assume  further  financial 
obligations ;  owing  to  these  and  other  valid  reasons,  it  has  been  decided 
absolutely  necessary  that  we  notify  all  strikers  on  the  above  roads  that 
further  financial  assistance  will  be  discontinued  on  and  after  December 
1,  1914. 

Many  inquiries  have  been  made  as  to  the  probable  effect  of  our 
placing  the  facts,  as  applied  to  these  strikes,  before  the  Industrial 
Relations  Commission.  We  say  now,  as  we  always  have,  that  in  our 
opinion  these  hearings  will  not  in  any  manner  have  a  direct  bearing 
on  bringing  about  an  adjustment  of  the  strikes.  The  Industrial  Rela- 
tions Commission  has  no  authority  to  either  adjust  a  strike  or  in  any 
manner  act  as  a  mediator  in  an  impending  strike,  its  duties  being  defined 
in  the  act  creating  the  commission,  and  confined  to  that  of  conducting 
hearings  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  cause  of  industrial  unrest, 
and  to  recommend  remedial  legislation.  Many  of  our  members  seem 
to  have  formed  the  opinion  that  this  commission  had  the  authority  to 
adjust  industrial  disputes.  This  is  not  the  case.  Nothing  can  be  ex- 
pected in  this  respect  other  than  our  ability  to  prove  the  unfairness  of 
these  railroads,  which,  in  so  doing,  will  lend  to  the  enactment  of  laws 
that  will  protect  us  in  the  future. 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      269 

In  view  of  the  notice  of  our  inability  to  continue  financial  assistance 
after  December  1,  1914,  we  believe  the  men  directly  involved  should  be 
given  an  opportunity  to  decide  whether  or  not  the  strike  should  be  con- 
tinued under  these  conditions. 

Notwithstanding  the  expected  criticism  from  this  action,  your 
officers  herewith  submit  a  ballot,  which  shall  be  filled  out  and  returned 
to  the  headquarters  of  your  respective  organizations. 

With  the  object  in  view  of  reaching  all  of  the  men  who  came  out 
on  strike,  this  communication,  together  with  sufficient  ballots,  is  being 
sent  to  every  local  lodge  in  the  jurisdiction  of  our  respective  organi- 
zations. 

Only  men  who  came  out  on  strike  on  the  roads  herein  mentioned 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  on  this  question. 

This  vote  shall  be  returnable  to  your  respective  headquarters  not 
later  than  November  23,  1914. 

Fraternally  and  respectfully   submitted, 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 
International  President. 

WM.  H.  JOHNSTON,  President  Machinists. 
J.  A.  FRANKLIN,  President  Boilermakers. 
JAS.  W.  KLINE,  President  Blacksmiths. 
MARTIN  F.  RYAN,  President  Carmen. 
J.  J.  HAYNES,  President  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 
A.  O.  WHARTON,  President  R.  E.  Department. 

After  reading  the  foregoing  letter  and  fortified  with  the 
information  secured  in  the  conference  with  Mr.  Wharton  I 
commenced  to  organize  a  movement  of  opposition  against  this 
proposition  as  submitted  by  the  Railway  Department,  and  in 
addition  used  the  Strike  Bulletin  to  advantage  in  procuring 
the  best  possible  results.  I  am,  therefore,  introducing  several 
editorials  as  published  in  the  Strike  Bulletin  on  this  subject, 
which  will  indicate  what  success  Mr.  Wharton  had  in  persuad- 
ing me  to  "come  along."  They  read  as  follows : 


STRIKE  BULLETIN 

Clinton,  111.,  Nov.  4,  1914. 

SHALL  WE  CALL  THE  STRIKE  OFF? 

The  Strike  Bulletin  belongs  to  the  agitators  in  the 
Labor  movement.    I  am  their  servant. 


270  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

The  Executive  Council  of  the  Railroad  Department  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  a  recent  conference 
in  Kansas  City,  decided  to  do  two  things. 

First:  To  discontinue  the  payment  of  all  strike  benefits 
on  the  Illinois  Central,  Pere  Marquette  and  Harriman 
Lines  after  December  1,  1914. 

Second:  To  submit  the  question  of  calling  off  the 
strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central,  Pere  Marquette  and  Har- 
riman Lines  to  a  vote  of  the  men  who  left  their  jobs  because 
these  companies  refused  them  the  right  to  organize  into 
System  Federations. 

I  am  unalterably  opposed  to  the  calling  off  of  this 
strike. 

In  making  my  position  known,  I  am  moved  by  but  one 
consideration,  and  that  is  to  prevent  the  labor  movement 
from  making  a  surrender  that  involves  the  integrity  and 
morality  of  the  cause.  The  crisis  presents  no  question 
of  personalities.  This  is  not  the  time  for  personal  con- 
troversies. We  are  face  to  face  with  a  situation  that 
demands  our  best  intelligence  and  appeals  to  the  purest 
of  motives. 

On  September  30,  1911,  35,000  of  us  gave  up  our  jobs 
because  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  said  we 
could  not  organize  into  System  Federations.  We  con- 
tended that  the  right  to  organize  was  the  right  of  every 
workingman.  We  maintained  that  this  right  was  neces- 
sary to  our  existence  as  free  American  workingmen. 

This  is  a  right  worth  fighting  for.  It  is  a  right  that  can- 
not be  surrendered  without  abandoning  every  fundamental 
principle  of  unionism.  While  only  35,000  of  us  are  directly 
involved,  every  union  man  in  America  is  interested.  If 
we  had  given  up  our  right  to  organize  in  the  manner  and 
form  necessary  in  order  to  enforce  our  reasonable  demands, 
we  would  have  compromised  the  entire  labor  movement. 
What  does  the  right  to  organize  mean,  unless  the  men 
have  the  right  to  determine  the  method  and  form  of  their 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      271 

own  organization?  If  we  are  to  accept  the  dictates  of  our 
bosses  as  to  the  form  and  character  of  our  unions,  we  may 
as  well  tear  up  our  union  cards  and  confess  the  meaning- 
lessness  of  the  union  labor  movement. 

This,  then,  is  the  cause  of  our  three-year  struggle. 
Now  we  are  asked  to  decide  whether  we  will  surrender 
and  abandon  this  cause. 

To  call  off  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines  means  one  of  two  things : 

First — Either  we  were  wrong  when  we  left  our  jobs  on 
September  30,  1911,  or 

Second — We  were  right  then  and  are  willing  now  to 
abandon  our  right  to  organize  as  we  see  fit. 

I  write  these  facts  as  living  truths.  Who  can  or  will 
dare  to  contradict  them? 

They  are  as  true  today  as  they  were  on  September  30, 
1911.  We  cannot  escape  the  truth.  Whatever  our  deci- 
sion may  be,  we  CANNOT  CHANGE  THESE  FACTS. 

To  be  beaten  is  one  thing ;  to  surrender  is  quite  another. 
If  some  think  that  this  strike  is  lost,  or  will  be  lost,  and 
time  justifies  their  belief,  even  then,  if  we  refuse  to  sur- 
render by  calling  the  strike  off,  the  worst  record  of  our 
struggle  will  be  that  we  were  beaten.  But  a  beaten  cause 
is  not  a  dishonored  cause.  In  such  a  defeat,  the  integrity 
of  the  labor  movement  survives.  A  voluntary  surrender 
leaves  the  movement  weaker.  In  this  case  it  sacrifices  the 
nearest  and  dearest  principles  of  unionism. 

If  the  cause  of  this  strike  was  wages  and  hours,  we 
would  not  lose  so  much.  But  when  the  cause  is  the  very 
life  principle  of  unionism— THE  RIGHT  TO  ORGAN- 
IZE— then  to  surrender  is  like  deserting  your  better  self, 
being  untrue  to  your  ideals,  sacrificing  the  truth  of  the 
thing  you  love  most — freedom. 

One  thing  looms  up  big.  It  demands  an  answer. 
Answer  that  question  before  you  vote.  That  question  is: 


272  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

WHAT  IS  TO  BE  GAINED  BY  CALLING  THE 
STRIKE  OFF? 

Why  should  we  call  off  the  strike,  even  if  it  is  impos- 
sible for  strike  benefits  to  be  paid?  Let  that  be ;  but,  in  the 
name  of  everything  that  we  love,  let  us  not,  without  rhyme 
or  reason,  abandon  our  duty  by  surrendering — by  becom- 
ing traitors  to  ourselves.  Let  us  turn  our  eyes  toward 
Colorado  and  see  the  bullet-swept  mountain  sides  and  the 
red  stain  they  call  Ludlow.  Note  the  tents,  the  poverty 
and  the  grim  determintaion  that  says  "Liberty  or  death." 
Remember  the  odds  they  are  fighting  against.  Have  they 
quit?  They  have  buried  their  wives  and  children;  they 
have  rotted  in  jail.  Will  they  quit?  They  may  be  beaten. 
The  "beast"  is  bold  and  wild.  The  Rockefeller  power  is 
immeasurable.  But  the  miners  on  the  hill  tops  of  Colo- 
rado have  not  surrendered.  We  are  fighting  the  same  fight. 
Why  should  we  surrender?  The  only  way  a  righteous 
cause  can  be  lost  is  by  surrender.  We  may  lose.  We 
may  be  beaten.  But  only  by  surrendering  can  the 
cause  lose. 

The  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  will  gain. 
Their  stock  will  go  up.  Their  dividends  will  increase. 
If  we  surrender  the  railroad  companies  will  have  a  thou- 
sand times  greater  consolation  than  they  would  have  had 
in  beating  us.  The  moment  we  call  this  strike  off  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  will  be  taken  off  the 
unfair  list,  and  yet,  every  shop  will  be  a  scab  camp.  Every 
scab  will  be  given  a  certificate  of  character.  He  will  wit- 
ness our  humility  and  weakness  in  surrendering.  He  and 
his  kind  will  laugh  over  the  times  when  we  repeatedly  said 
that  we  had  left  our  jobs  rather  than  give  up  the  right  to 
organize. 

Every  railroad  company  in  the  country  will  be 
strengthened  in  its  determination  to  crush  labor,  and  every 
progressive  move  made  by  labor  to  organize  and  federate 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      273 

into  a  more  compact  and  efficient  form  will  be  met  by  new 
opposition,  born  of  this  unconditional  surrender. 

I  REPEAT:  What  have  we  to  gain  by  calling  off  the 
strike? 

We  have  fought  and  suffered,  but  we  have  done  this 
for  a  cause.  If  we  are  beaten,  we  are  beaten  for  a  cause. 
If  we  call  this  strike  off,  and  surrender,  we  surrender  with- 
out a  motive,  without  an  excuse. 

We  have  spent  time  and  money  to  get  evidence  in  shape 
to  present  to  the  commission.  The  commission  has  offi- 
cially and  positively  decided  to  hear  our  evidence.  In 
what  position  will  we  appear  before  the  commission,  if  we 
vote  to  call  off  the  strike — if  we  surrender  to  the  railroad 
companies. 

The  railroads  have  had  their  attorneys  on  the  job  try- 
ing to  keep  this  investigation  from  coming  up.  Are  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikers  going  to 
call  off  the  strike  and  so  accomplish  what  the  railroad 
attorneys  failed  to  do? 

I  ask  again:  what  have  we  to  gain  by  calling  off  the 
strike?  What  have  you  personally  to  gain  by  calling  it 
off  ?  Great  God,  do  you  want  to  vote  yourself  the  brother 
of  a  scab?  If  you  vote  to  call  this  strike  off,  you  vote  to 
take  the  embargo  off  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines;  you  admit  the  scabs  were  justified  in  scabbing; 
you  place  your  approval  on  everything  that  has  taken  place 
during  the  strike — everything  done  by  the  railroads  and 
their  scabs.  And  by  so  doing  we  automatically  become 
scabs  ourselves.  Let  us  not  lull  ourselves  into  any  delu- 
sions. The  mathematics  of  the  facts  cannot  be  changed. 

Every  international  union  that  is  a  part  of  this  strike 
has  sent  out  ballots  to  all  its  lodges  and  the  strikers  of  the 
Illinois  Central,  Pere  Marquette  and  Harriman  Lines  are 
asked  to  vote  yes  or  no  on  this  proposition. 

What  will  you  do?    Will  you  be  right? 

In  this  fight  each  of  us  has  taken  the  medicine  put  uf 


274  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

to  him.  Only  a  few  have  complained.  It  has  been  my  lot 
to  take  my  medicine.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  sitting 
for  two  weeks  and  listenting  to  the  human  hounds  who 
asked  the  state  to  hang  me.  There  are  enough  charges 
against  me  at  the  present  time  to  send  me  to  the  peniten- 
tiary for  35  years.  If  I  were  asked  to  call  off  the  strike 
or  take  the  35  years  in  the  penitentiary,  I  would  cheer- 
fully say,  "Give  me  the  35  years  in  the  penitentiary." 

I  am  sure  that  you,  my  brother  striker,  would  not  do 
differently.  Would  you?  CARL  E.  PERSON. 

Clinton,  111.,  November  4,  1914. 

Again  in  the  next  issue  of  the  Strike  Bulletin  the  follow- 
ing editorial  was  published,  which  will  again  indicate  that  Presi- 
dent A.  O.  Wharton's  plea  for  me  to  keep  my  foot  on  the  soft, 
soft  pedal  had  no  effect  and  reads  as  follows : 

STRIKE  BULLETIN 

Clinton,  111.,  November  11, 1914. 
STAND  YOUR  GROUND 

A  proposition  for  calling  off  the  strike  has  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  men  on  strike.  As  a  consequence,  we  are 
face  to  face  with  the  greatest  problem  that  has  confronted 
us  since  the  day  when  35,000  of  us  laid  down  our  tools 
rather  than  surrender  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
labor  movement— THE  RIGHT  TO  ORGANIZE. 

The  proposition  for  calling  off  the  strike  represents 
the  most  vital  crisis  of  our  three-year  strike,  because  it 
emanates  from  the  labor  movement  itself.  It  is  the  first 
indication  of  weakness  within  our  own  ranks.  And  as  a 
natural  consequence,  it  is  demanding  more  consideration 
than  it  would  had  the  proposition  to  surrender  come  from 
the  railroad  companies. 

Many  uninformed  strikers  are  of  the  opinion  that  if 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      275 

the  strike  is  called  off,  the  different  railroad  companies 
will  put  the  strikers  back  to  work  under  the  conditions 
existing  before  the  strike.  Such,  however,  is  not  the 
case.  The  companies  have  not  agreed  to  put  a  single 
striker  back  to  work,  and  so  if  you  vote  the  strike  off,  you 
do  so  without  the  slightest  assurance  of  any  recompense 
for  yourself  or  the  labor  movement.  You  are  asked  to  sur- 
render your  right  to  organize  and  surrender  your  job  for 
all  time  to  come. 

WHY,  THEN,  SHOULD  YOU  CALL  OFF  THE 
STRIKE? 

The  railroad  companies  and  their  scabs  would  be  the 
only  ones  to  benefit  by  the  calling  off  of  the  strike.  It 
would  give  the  companies  access  to  the  open  labor  market. 
It  would  increase  their  standing  on  the  board  of  trade. 
It  would  take  them  off  the  unfair  list,  where  they  have 
been  placed  by  organized  labor  generally,  and  would 
increase  their  revenues  by  bringing  them  more  business. 
It  would  give  the  scab  a  certificate  of  character.  He  no 
longer  would  be  a  social  criminal.  The  stain  of  traitor 
that  is  stamped  on  his  soul  would  be  removed  and  his 
standing  in  the  community  where  he  resides  would  be  that 
of  an  ordinary  citizen. 

As  a  striker  you  are  now  asked  to  make  these  condi- 
tions possible  for  the  railroad  companies  and  their  scabs. 
In  return  for  calling  off  the  strike  you  are  to  receive  noth- 
ing—NOTHING. 

If,  among  the  thousands  of  men  that  are  on  strike, 
there  are  a  few  who  have  been  on  strike  only  to  maintain 
respectability — if  there  are  jobs  for  them  on  the  struck 
roads — then  let  them  go  back  to  work.  But  let  us  not  dis- 
grace the  entire  labor  movement  simply  in  order  to  accom- 
modate the  dissatisfied  few.  Let  the  dissatisfied  few  go 
and  disgrace  themselves. 

The  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
represents  the  federated  movement  on  all  American  rail- 


276  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

roads.  The  men  on  strike  are  the  pioneers  of  the  federa- 
tion method  of  organization.  Because  of  their  refusal  to 
surrender  the  right  to  organize  along  federation  prin- 
ciples, since  the  beginning  of  this  strike  the  federation 
movement  has  spread  out  over  some  fifty  different  rail- 
road systems.  Out  of  the  freedom  that  burned  in  the  souls 
of  this  vast  army  of  strikers  has  developed  an  institution 
of  solidarity  to  which  we  can  point  with  pride — an  institu- 
tion well  worth  the  sacrifices  that  we  have  made  and  all 
that  we  may  make  in  the  future.  To  call  this  strike  off — 
to  surrender  must  inevitably  depreciate  the  federation 
movement — this  child  of  the  ages  that  has  grown  out  of 
the  fight  we  have  made  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines. 

LET  US  MEET  THE  ISSUE  SQUARELY— LET  US 

BE  MEN 

The  only  argument  of  those  who  would  call  off  the 
strike  is  that  by  so  doing  we  can  organize  the  scabs  now 
working  on  the  struck  roads.  This,  however,  is  not  an 
argument — it  is  an  insult.  It  is  neither  practical  nor  pos- 
sible. A  labor  organization  that  makes  a  business  of 
organizing  scabs — traitors  to  the  cause  of  labor — has  out- 
lived its  usefulness  as  a  labor  organization.  It  prosti- 
tutes its  principle  for  the  sake  of  having  a  large  mem- 
bership and  for  the  pleasure  of  pointing  to  a  well-filled 
treasury.  Of  those  who  are  ready  to  sidetrack  principles 
for  the  sake  of  other  accomplishments  and  who  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  scabs  can  be  organized  and  become  pro- 
ductive agencies  in  the  labor  movement  after  the  strike 
is  called  off— of  such  we  wish  to  ask  one  question:  What 
was  done  on  the  Santa  Fe?  On  the  L.  &  N.?  And  on 
numerous  other  roads?  What  was  gained  by  taking  these 
roads  off  the  unfair  list — by  legalizing  the  scabs  and 
calling  the  strike  off? 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      277 

THESE  ARE   QUESTIONS  WHICH  DEMAND   AN 

ANSWER 

The  strike  cannot  be  called  off  without  seriously  injur- 
ing the  entire  labor  movement.  Neither  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Lines  strikers  nor  any  other  part,  clique 
or  clan  of  the  labor  movement  has  the  right  to  rob  it  of  its 
very  vitality — its  ideals — its  motive  power — its  principles. 
Any  man  who  is  on  strike  can  go  back  and  SCAB — he  can 
go  and  disgrace  himself.  But  we  object  to  him  surrender- 
ing the  entire  cause  of  labor — the  very  pillars  of  organi- 
zation— simply  for  his  own  aggrandizement.  The  uncom- 
promising multitude  objects  to  any  one  class  taking  the 
liberty  to  surrender  that  which  does  not  belong  to  it. 

According  to  the  rules,  your  decision  on  the  matter  of 
calling  off  the  strike  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  by  November  23,  1914.  It  is  your  duty  as  a 
striker  to  so  forcibly  express  yourself  on  this  proposition 
that  never  again  will  you  be  asked  to  surrender — so  that 
you  will  never  again  be  asked  to  vote  for  the  open  shop — 
to  rub  elbows  with  scabs — to  disgrace  yourself  and  dis- 
honor your  cause.  The  acid  test  is  being  applied.  Let  us 
come  out  of  it  100  per  cent  perfect,  and  thereby  apprise 
the  railroad  companies  of  the  fact  that  we  are  as  deter- 
mined as  ever  for  RIGHT.  That  we  have  nothing  to  sur- 
render. That  our  ideals  are  still  before  us  and  our  love 
of  freedom  eternal. 

If  you  are  one  of  those  that  pledged  to  do  your  part  in 
preserving  the  morality  and  integrity  of  our  cause — then 
this  is  the  time  you  are  asked  to  STAND  YOUR 
GROUND.  CARL  E.  PERSON. 

Now  I  wish  to  introduce  such  evidence  as  will  best  indicate 
what  the  sentiments  of  the  labor  movement  were  in  connection 
with  the  proposition  as  submitted  to  call  the  strikes  off.  My 


278  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

first  exhibit  is  a  document  from  the  Federation  at  Danville, 
111.,  which  reads  as  follows : 

STRIKE  BULLETIN 

Clinton,  111.,  Wednesday,  November  25,  1914. 
FROM  THE  BOYS  AT  DANVILLE 

Danville,  111.,  November  17,  1914. 

William  H.  Johnston,  Int.  Pres.  I.  A.  of  M. 

J.  W.  Kline,  Int.  Pres.  I.  B.  of  B.  &  H. 

Martin  F.  Ryan,  Int.  Pres.  B.  R.  C.  of  A. 

J.  A.  Franklin,  Int.  Pres.  I.  B.  of  B.  M.  &  I.  S.  B. 

A.  O.  Wharton,  President  Railway  Dept.  of  A.  F.  of  L. 

J.  J.  Haynes,  Int.  Pres.  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers: 

C.  &  E.  I.  Local  Federation  take  this  means  of  protest- 
ing against  your  circular  letter,  in  which  you  are  sub- 
mitting a  proposition  for  the  calling  off  of  the  strikes  on 
the  I.  C.,  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Marquette  railroads. 
This  action  on  the  part  of  the  Grand  Lodge  is  entirely 
uncalled  for.  It  has  not  only  disgraced  the  men  on  strike, 
but  every  union  man.  Because  it  conveys  a  weakness  that 
does  not  exist  in  the  rank  and  file  of  the  labor  movement 
here  in  Danville  or  anywhere  else. 


The  principle  that  these  men  are  on  strike  for  is  the 
fundamental  principle  of  the  labor  movement.  Should 
they  surrender  on  the  I.  C.,  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere 
Marquette  railroads,  or  any  other  railroads,  it  would  auto- 
matically weaken  the  labor  movement  here  in  Danville  on 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      279 

the  C.  &  E.  I.  and  every  other  organized  city  and  railroad 
in  the  country,  where  workers  have  become  enlightened 
enough  to  demand  solidarity.  WHERE  THE  CRUDEST 
FOUNDATION  FOR  THE  FEDERATED  MOVE- 
MENT HAS  BEEN  LAID. 

Although  we  are  not  directly  engaged  in  this  strike, 
nevertheless  we  are  interested.  We  feel  that  we  are  on 
strike  for  the  men  on  the  I.  C.,  Harriman  and  Pere  Mar- 
quette  railroads,  are  fighting  for  the  same  thing  that  we 
have  procured,  and  we  procured  our  concessions  because 
there  were  men  on  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines  that  had 
courage  to  fight  for  these  fundamental  rights  for  the 
workers.  If  this  principle  of  Federation  is  surrendered 
on  the  struck  roads.  THEN  THE  FEDERATED  MOVE- 
MENT IS  ALSO  SURRENDERED  ON  THE  C.  &  E.  I., 
and,  if  you  please,  on  every  other  railroad  in  the  country. 

We  are  taking  this  liberty  to  protest  to  you  not 
entirely  because  we  are  part  of  the  American  Federated 
Movement — but,  if  you  please,  because  we  have  been  a  big 
factor  in  carrying  on  the  strike  on  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman 
Lines.  WE  HAVE  PLACED  OUR  MORAL  AND 
FINANCIAL  ASSISTANCE  WITH  THIS  ARMY  OF 
MEN.  We  have  contributed  that  portion  of  ammunition 
in  this  fight  that  is  just  as  essential  as  the  muscle  and 
brains  that  have  been  employed  in  this  fight.  We  direct 
you  to  the  fact  that  we  have  placed  thousands  of  dollars 
in  this  fight  right  from  DANVILLE  ALONE.  That  we 
are  as  interested  as  any  of  the  men  who  are  on  strike  or 
ANY  OTHER  INDIVIDUAL  or  Lodge  that  has  par- 
ticipated in  the  construction  of  this  movement.  We  are 
as  heavy  stockholders  as  anyone  else,  BAR  NONE,  and 
therefore  we  demand  the  whyfore  and  wherefore  for  this 
trespass  upon  us,  on  the  part  of  you  and  your  associates 
in  the  railway  department. 

WE  PROTEST  AGAINST  THIS  DISGRACE  THAT 
YOU  HAVE  TAKEN  THE  LIBERTY  TO  INTRUDE 


280  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

UPON  US  AND  THE  UNION  MOVEMENT  IN  GEN« 
ERAL. 

We  insist  that  the  strikes  on  the  I.  C.,  Harriman  Lines 
and  Pere  Marquette  Railroads  MUST  BE  FOUGHT 
UNTIL  THEY  ARE  WON.  And  we  expect  our  associa- 
tions to  place  sufficient  money  in  the  strike  to  make  it 
possible  for  its  successful  termination. 

We  appreciate  the  fact  that  a  small  army  of  men  must 
be  maintained  on  these  roads  to  carry  on  the  strike.  And 
to  make  this  possible  we  demand  that  a  portion  of  the 
funds  of  all  organizations  affiliated  with  the  railway 
department  be  expended  in  the  winning  of  these  strikes. 
We  also  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you  that  the  greatest 
trouble  has  been  NO  CO-OPERATION  in  the  handling 
of  these  strikes,  IN  FINANCING  THEM  on  the  part  of 
you  Grand  Lodge  Officers.  The  little  effort  that  has  been 
made  by  you  has  been  in  compliance  with  the  Law  of 
Individuality  ALONG  CRAFT  AND  CLASS  LINES. 
We  are  anxiously  awaiting  the  day  when  the  railway 
department  would  become  a  productive  institution.  How- 
ever, we  note  even  at  this  late  date  that  the  railway 
department  is  not  handling  this  proposition  of  sending  out 
the  ballots  of  this  vote.  YOU  ARE  STILL  HANDLING 
YOUR  BUSINESS  AS  INDIVIDUALS.  There  is  no 
wonder  that  you  have  been  unable  to  have  the  I.  C.  and 
Harriman  Lines  recognize  that  law  of  co-operation— of 
federation — when  it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  you 
do  not  recognize  it  yourselves. 

We  protest  AGAINST  THE  SURRENDERING  OF 
THE  STRIKE  ON  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  AND 
HARRIMAN  LINES.  If  the  strikes  cannot  be  won,  then 
let  them  be  lost,  and  then  we  can  at  least  maintain  our 
respectability  on  the  C.  &  E.  I.  and  on  the  many  other 
roads  where  federation  has  been  inaugurated. 

Regardless  of  what  your  position  may  be,  we  have 
given  you  ours.  We  shall  continue  to  support  the  strike  in 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      281 

the  future  as  in  the  past  and  we  expect  the  International 
Associations  to  do  the  same.  If  we  are  beaten  in  these 
strikes,  it  shall  be  after  we  have  done  our  full  duty  to 
avert  such  disaster.  But  as  far  as  calling  it  off,  and  sur- 
rendering, that  shall  be  one  function  that  we  shall  never 
be  guilty  of  and  trust  that  the  Labor  Movement  will  not  be 
guilty  of  such  a  cowardly  disgrace. 

We  remain  yours  for  the  strikers  on  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral, Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Marquette  R.  R. 

FEDERATED  COMMITTEE. 

J.  T.  RITTER,  Pipe  Fitter;  C.  G.  HOFFMAN,  T.  J. 
SHORT,  Sheet  Metal  Workers;  F.  GIESIKING,  J.  E. 
ASKINS,  E.  GILDAUF,  Machinists;  M.  R.  MIEKE, 
ED.  BALLAH,  WALTER  TRIMBLE,  Car  Workers; 
GERRY  SMITH,  E.  L.  BOYD,  J.  W.  ALLISON, 
Boilermakers;  BLUFORD  WILSON,  WILLIAM 
RADIMACHER,  JOHN  HERMLING,  Blacksmiths. 

I  am  now  entering  into  the  records  a  few  of  the  many 
documents  in  relation  to  this  subject  of  calling  the  strike  off, 
which  I  am  sure  you  will  agree  with  me  are  self-explanatory, 
therefore  I  take  much  pleasure  in  having  you  meet  some  of  the 
guards  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  called  to  the  colors  during  this 
invasion  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers : 

A  WELCOME  RESOLUTION 

WAYCROSS,  GA.,  November  15,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

Robinson  Lodge,  No.  552,  I.  A.  of  M.,  in  regular  session  assembled 
adopted  the  following  resolution: 

Be  It  Resolved,  That  this  lodge,  No.  552,  go  on  record  as  stand- 
ing firm  with  the  Strike  Bulletin  in  this  noble  appeal  to  all  union 
men,  and  that  we  carry  to  a  finish  a  battle  that  is  not  lost.  We  believe 
the  right  to  organize  comprises  the  same  essential  feature  in  1914  as 
it  did  in  1911,  and  because  there  is  at  stake  every  fundamental  principle 
of  unionism;  therefore,  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  institute  more  energy  in  this  fight  and  engage 
ourselves  in  a  war.  Let  those  of  us  who  have  been  nothing  more  than 
spectators  of  this  battle  rally  and  get  in  line  for  action,  in  every  sense 
of  the  word.  Let  us  take  on  new  activity  and  interest  financially  and 


282  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

morally  and  lend  our  co-operation  to  a  fight  so  nobly  fought.  And  in 
the  end,  if  we  should  meet  defeat,  let  us  remember  that  those  things  are 
all  a  part  in  the  great  game  of  life.  To  meet  these  conditions  and  not 
fight  demonstrates  lack  of  courage.  Let  us  hold  our  ground  in  this 
final  test  of  the  Union  cause.  Let  us  be  men. 

Committee, 

ST.  CLAIH  SMITH:, 
ED.  JONES, 
W.  K.  GOODYEAR, 
Lodge  No.  652,  I.  A.  of  M.,  Waycross,  Ga. 

A  RESOLTTTION  BT  THE  BUKNSIDE  STRIKERS 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  14,  1914. 

WHEREAS,  We  have  been  on  strike  now  thirty-seven  months,  fight- 
ing for  recognition  of  the  system  federation  and  at  the  same  time 
fighting  the  battle  of  organized  labor  at  large,  and  our  fight  has  been 
the  instrument  of  getting  federated  contracts  for  our  brothers  on  many 
other  railroads  in  this  country  and  we  have  made  history  in  the  labor 
movement  since  the  35,000  of  us  laid  down  our  tools  on  the  30th  day 
of  September,  1911,  with  the  determination  of  having  the  form  of  organ- 
ization best  suited  to  us,  and  not  to  allow  the  railroad  companies  to 
dictate  to  us  our  form  of  organization;  and 

WHEREAS,  It  would  be  unforgivable  cowardice  for  us  to  surren- 
der at  this  time,  yes,  or  any  other  time,  unless  the  surrender  would  be 
absolutely  beneficial  to  the  labor  movement,  and  we  know  that  it  would 
not  be,  it  would  kill  the  labor  movement  among  the  shop  trades  in  the 
railroad  industry  for  years  to  come;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  have  the  International  officers  come  along  and 
tell  us  to  stand  firm  and  what  the  winning  of  this  strike  meant  not  only 
to  us,  but  to  all  other  roads  throughout  the  country.  If  it  meant  so  much 
to  us  then,  it  seems  more  now;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  railway  department  which  was  not  in  existence 
when  we  were  locked  out  by  these  railroads  has  called  its  executive 
board  together  and  framed  up  this  rotten  circular  letter,  which  was 
sent  out  with  a  ballot,  asking  the  men  who  had  paid  the  price  of  thirty- 
seven  months  of  sacrifice  and  hardships  to  vote  whether  they  wanted 
the  strike  called  off  or  stay  on  strike  without  financial  assistance  after 
December  1,  1914;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  would  like  to  know  by  what  authority  the  R.  E. 
Department  or  the  International  officers  have  to  tell  us  that  they  are 
going  to  stop  financial  assistance  on  December  1  and  ask  us  to  vote  on 
calling  off  the  strike,  without  first  putting  it  up  to  the  rank  and  file 
who  are  furnishing  the  finance  to  pay  the  benefits  with.  Are  the  Inter- 
national Presidents  paying  anything  more  than  their  regular  monthly 
dues?  Have  any  of  them  assessed  themselves  to  help  the  men  on  the 
firing  line?  We  will  venture  to  say  no,  and  they  have  not  even  fed- 
erated and  gotten  together  and  furnished  the  moral  and  intellectual 
support ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  Grand  Lodge  officers  should  remember  that  at 
the  Kansas  City  convention  of  the  R.  E.  Department  they  pledged  them- 
selves to  give  every  assistance  within  their  power  to  the  men  on  the  firing 
line,  and  to  fight  these  strikes  to  a  successful  termination ;  and,  therefore, 
be  it 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      283 

Resolved,  That  we  do  everything  in  our  power  against  the  action 
taken  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  the  R.  E.  Department,  which  is  so 
damaging  to  the  very  principles  of  trades  unionism ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  do   everything  in  our  power  to   convince  the 
brothers  having  a  vote  the  necessity  of  voting  against  calling  off  these 
strikes  until  we  get  a  satisfactory  settlement.     Be  sure,  brothers,  that 
you  vote  as  trade  unionists;  don't  vote  yourself  a  scab. 
(Signed)         I.  J.  CTJNDIFF,  Boilermakers. 

J.  L.  EDWARDS,  Blacksmith. 

R.  S.  KNOX,  Painter. 

J.  R.  MILSTEAD,  Carmen. 

A.  HUFTON,  Machinist. 

JOHN  McDouGAL. 

JAMES  RICHMOND. 

J.  F.  KANE. 

WILLIAM  BARNSFIELD,  Blacksmith. 

E.  H.  MAY,  Machinist. 

J.  S.  CLAYTON. 

E.  C.  BRODENBERG,  Blacksmith  Helper. 

JAMES  McGuiRE. 

GEORGE  BURGER,  Machinist. 

C.  TUNISON. 

P.  W.  FLANNIGAN,  Steamfltter. 

FROM  PADUCAH,  KY. 

PADUCAH,  KY.,  November  6. 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  I.  C.  System  Federation  at  Paducah, 
Ky.,  held  this  date,  the  ballots  sent  out  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  in 
regard  to  the  discontinuance  of  the  strike  were  thoroughly  discussed. 
We,  the  members  of  the  System  Federation,  condemn  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  for  this  action  and  it  is  resolved  we  demand  that  our 
Grand  Lodge  officers  settle  this  strike  satisfactorily  or  continue  it  for- 
ever, and  it  is  further  resolved,  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  sent 
to  each  grand  lodge  officer  and  also  the  Strike  Bulletin  and  Federationist 
for  publication. 

(Signed)         JAMES  G.  CASHEN,  B.  of  R.  C.  181, 
J.  A.  JAMES,  B.  of  R.  C.  A.  14, 
H.  S.  THIXTON,  Machinists  123, 
GEORGE  T.  YOPP,  Machinists  123, 

Committee. 
FROM  THE  OAKLAND  FEDERATION 

Oakland  Local  Federation,  Harriman  Lines 

OAKLAND,  CAL.,  November  7,  1914. 

WILLIAM  H.  JOHNSTON,  Int.  Pres.,  I.  A.  of  M. 

J.  W.  KLINE,  Int.  Pres.,  I.  B.  of  B.  &  H. 

MARTIN  F.  RYAN,  Int.  Pres.,  B.  R.  C.  of  A. 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN,  Int.  Pres.,  I.  B.  of  B.  M.  &  I.  S.  B. 

J.  J.  HYNES,  Int.  Pres.,  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 

O.  A.  WHARTON,  Pres.  R.  E.  Dept.,  A.  F.  of  L. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  Your  circular  letter  pertaining  to  the 
calling  off  of  the  strikes  now  in  force  on  the  Illinois  Central,  Pere  Mar- 


284  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

quette  and  Harriman  Lines  received.  As  you  state  in  that  letter  that 
you  expect  some  criticism,  the  following  will  not  be  a  surprise  to  you. 
This  matter  was  taken  up  at  our  regular  meeting  last  night,  and  we 
consider  it  to  be  a  direct  slap  in  the  face,  an  insult  to  our  honesty  and 
integrity  as  union  men.  You  make  reference  in  your  letter  to  this  state- 
ment: "Nothing  that  honorable  men  could  do  to  bring  about  an  adjust- 
ment has  been  neglected  or  overlooked."  We  wish  to  state  that  as  far 
as  the  strike  on  the  Pacific  coast  is  concerned,  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
took  the  men  off  the  line  and  no  amount  of  persuasion  could  get  them 
replaced.  This  would  show  that  something  had  been  neglected  and  over- 
looked. The  strange  part  of  the  whole  proceeding  is  that  this  time 
when  an  investigation  before  the  Industrial  Relations  Commission  is  about 
to  be  held,  along  come  our  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  want  the  men  to 
call  the  strike  off,  for  that  is  the  REAL  purpose  of  taking  the  vote. 
We  can  understand  that  the  railroads  do  not  want  this  investigation, 
but  for  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  it  is  a  mystery,  unless  it  be  for  the 
same  reason. 

What  sacrifices  have  any  of  you  made  in  comparison  to  the  boys 
on  the  firing  line?  You  have  cut  down  the  expenses  of  the  men  on  the 
firing  line  to  a  minimum.  Your  shrewdness  in  calling  off  the  strike 
benefits  on  December  1,  which  may  have  a  tendency  to  compel  some  of 
the  members  to  vote  FOR  your  proposition,  certainly  entitles  you  to  the 
prize.  Conditions  on  the  road  do  not  warrant  any  such  move,  and  the 
fair  which  is  to  be  held  in  San  Francisco,  in  1915,  would  be  sufficient  for 
us  to  continue  this  strike.  We  at  this  point  are  absolutely  OPPOSED 
to  the  calling  off  of  the  strike,  and  hereby  CONDEMN  the  actions  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  officers. 

If  this  strike  is  called  off  we  would  suggest  that  the  brothers  voting 
for  it,  in  company  with  our  Grand  Lodge  officers,  be  the  FIRST  to 
apply  for  positions,  so  that  they  may  work  under  conditions  secured 
for  them  by  the  SCABS.  In  regards  to  our  union  cards,  and  the  benefits 
derived  therefrom,  under  the  present  situation,  is  too  ridiculous  for 
serious  consideration.  It  seems  that  you  have  made  up  your  mind  to 
have  this  called  off,  as  you  only  give  the  men  less  than  twenty  days  to 
get  their  ballots  in.  Certainly  the  boys  on  the  other  roads  who  are 
working  under  federated  agreements  (which  are  not  worth  the  paper 
they  are  written  on,  should  this  strike  be  called  off)  can  thank  you  for 
whatever  "SUCCESS"  they  may  meet  with  in  the  future. 

In  conclusion,  by  whose  authority  did  you  send  out  these  ballots? 
If  you  succeed  in  your  scheme,  we  feel  safe  in  saying  that  you  will  have 
plenty  of  time  to  organize  men  into  your  respective  organizations.  We 
would  suggest  that  when  speaking  to  prospective  members  you  refer 
to  the  Illinois  Central,  Pere  Marquette  and  Harriman  Lines,  as  a 
GOOD  incentive  for  them  to  join  "our"  organization.  We  do  not  know 
the  motive  for  this,  for  none  has  been  given  which  is  satisfactory  to  us, 
but  if  there  was  any  ulterior  one,  time  will  disclose  it. 

Yours  fraternally, 

JOHN  ROBERTSON, 
Secretary  System  Federation  Harriman  Lines. 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT     285 

FROM  THE  BOTS  AT  WATERLOO 

WATERLOO,  IOWA,  November  10,  1914. 

Brother  Union  Men:  The  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted  at  a  regular  meeting  of  Waterloo  Lodge,  No.  314,  I.  A.  of  M.: 

WHEREAS,  No  one  realizes  more  fully  than  we  that  the  shopmen's 
strikes  on  the  Harriman  Lines,  Illinois  Central  and  Pere  Marquette 
Lines  have  been  long  drawn  out  and  hard  fought  struggles,  causing 
many  hardships  to  some  of  the  true  union  men  involved,  and  a  large 
expenditure  of  money  from  the  various  crafts  having  interests  at  stake; 
and 

WHEREAS,  The  heartless  railroad  corporations,  through  their  stub- 
bornness and  hatred  of  union  men,  have  squandered  enormous  sums 
of  money,  hiring  incompetent  strike-breakers  and  company  emissaries, 
to  the  extent  that  they  have  used  drastic  measures,  and  at  the  present 
time  are  compelled  to  borrow  money  to  lease  or  buy  new  equipment;  and 

WHEREAS,  Our  Grand  Lodge  officers  for  some  reason  that  is 
beyond  our  power  to  discern  have  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  strikers, 
requesting  the  calling  off  of  above-mentioned  strike,  right  at  a  time  when 
the  paid  emissaries  of  the  companies  are  working  their  utmost  for  just 
such  a  move,  and  right  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  by  calling  off  these 
strikes  at  the  present  inopportune  time,  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to 
gain  and  everything  to  lose,  even  to  the  extent  of  jeopardizing  the  dozens 
of  railroads  shopmen's  federated  agreements  that  were  acquired  solely 
through  the  gallant  fight  of  the  strikers  on  the  struck  roads;  therefore, 
be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  condemn  in  no  moderate  terms  any  action 
that  would  foolishly  tend  to  call  oif  the  shopmen's  strikes  on  the  Har- 
riman, Illinois  Central  and  Pere  Marquette  Lines  at  a  time  when  such 
action  would  be  suicidal  to  the  union  movement;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  appeal  to  all  true  union  men  and  strikers 
to  work  and  vote  against  calling  off  the  strikes  as  set  forth  in  the  ballots, 
sent  out  by  the  various  Grand  Lodges,  and  that  we  demand  a  fair  and 
unbiased  handling  of  this  matter  for  the  best  interests  of  the  progress 
of  unionism;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  submitted  to  our 
brother  union  men  in  any  and  every  legal  way  that  we  may  deem 
advisable. 

F.  A.  BLIM,  President, 
FHAKK  CONNOR,  R.  S., 
Machinist  Union  No.  314. 

FROM  MACHINISTS'  DISTRICT 

WATERLOO,  IOWA,  November  12. 

Lodge  No.  314  of  Waterloo,  recognizing  the  vital  importance  of  the 
present  situation  regarding  the  strike  on  the  above  named  railroads, 
has  drafted  a  resolution  protesting  against  the  idea  of  calling  off  these 
gigantic  struggles.  The  resolution  in  question  receives  my  heartiest 
approval  and  I  have  much  pleasure  in  recommending  it  to  you  with  the 
fuU  knowledge  that  you  will  appreciate  the  sentiment  therein  expressed. 

Brothers,  the  day  of  calling  off  strikes  is  PAST.  To  say  the  least, 
it  would  be  committing  industrial  suicide  to  attempt  it  in  this  case. 


286  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

WHAT  HAVE  WE  TO  GAIN  BY  CALLING  OFF  THESE 
STRIKES? 

We  have  everything  to  lose — the  noble  sacrifices  that  we  have  made, 
the  suffering  our  loved  ones  have  gone  through,  the  unswerving  loyalty 
of  our  brothers,  and,  above  all  things,  our  freedom  in  the  future.  Shall 
we  crucify  the  spirit  of  federation  upon  the  altar  of  greed  by  a  cow- 
ardly surrender  of  LIFE  AND  LIBERTY  to  a  heartless  corporation, 
which,  in  turn  would  return  our  cowardice  by  starving  us  into  submis- 
sion or  shooting  us  to  death.  The  very  latest  outrage  upon  humanity 
was  committed  on  November  11,  1914,  when  our  worthy  brother,  Carl 
E.  Person,  was  again  arrested,  together  with  our  friend,  Floyd  Gibbons. 

This  action  proves  that  the  hand  of  the  depraved  corporation  is  on 
the  throttle.  They  have  determined  to  choke  Person,  Meagher,  Gibbons 
and  the  Strike  Bulletin  into  insensibility,  with  a  view  to  preventing  fur- 
ther publicity  for  the  dangerous  equipment  in  use  on  the  struck  roads. 

In  closing,  let  me  say  that  if  our  Executive  Officers  had  used  their 
efforts  with  the  same  amount  of  zeal,  with  a  view  to  calling  a  GEN- 
ERAL STRIKE,  they  would  have  earned  our  undying  gratitude.  But 
as  it  is,  let  us  show  by  an  overwhelming  vote  for  a  continuance  of  the 
strike  that  we  do  not  fall  for  any  calling  off  dope. 

Yours  Very  sincerely, 

W.  A.  MOORE,  Secretary-Treasurer, 
District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  Striking  Machinist. 

FROM  A  PIONEER 

HELENA,  ARK.,  November  10,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

I  have  received  a  ballot  by  which  I  am  requested  to  record  my  atti- 
tude on  the  strike  situation.  I  am  the  only  striker  working  here  and  I 
say,  God  forbid  that  union  strikers  who  have  stayed  with  the  battle  this 
long  and  suffered  so  much  should  vote  to  surrender  their  manhood  now. 

If  there  are  any  who  can't  see  it  that  way,  I  refer  them  to  the 
Santa  Fe  and  the  L.  &  N.  On  these  roads  a  card  man  can't  work  and 
open  his  mouth  in  defense  of  himself  or  an  organization.  What  have 
we  to  gain  by  voting  to  surrender?  I  stand  today  where  I  stood  on 
the  first  day  of  May,  1911,  when  I  opened  the  first  federation  of  Illinois 
Central  employes  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  of  which  gathering  I  was  the  chair- 
man. I  stand  for  federation  of  all  the  trades.  I  can  go  down  to  defeat 
with  honor,  but  surrender — never.  So,  therefore,  my  vote  shall  be  to 
continue  the  strike. 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.  H.  GORE, 
320  McDonough  St.,  Helena,  Ark. 

CHAMPAIGN,  ILL. 

CHAMPAIGN,  ILL.,  November  11,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

The  strikers  at  Champaign  have  filled  out  their  ballots,  and  every  one 
has  voted  to  continue  the  strike.  Benefits  or  no  benefits,  we  will  never 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT     287 

vote  to  put  the  Illinois  Central  on  the  fair  list  and  make  scabs  out  of 
ourselves. 

The  idea  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  in  asking  us  to  put  the  Illinois 
Central  on  the  fair  list  and  get  nothing  in  return  for  it  is  ridiculous. 
And,  again,  why  are  they  trying  to  discourage  us,  as  to  the  Industrial 
Relations  Commission's  investigation?  Are  they  afraid  the  Illinois 
Central  will  get  some  more  publicity? 

We  trust  that  the  boys  who  came  out  in  this  strike  and  went  else- 
where to  work  and  who  have  been  working  all  the  time  will  take  into 
consideration  the  condition  we  will  be  in  if  this  strike  is  called  off  and 
that  they  will  vote  to  continue  the  strike. 

Yours  for  victory  with  no  compromise, 

GEORGE  P.  REILEY, 
Secretary  Federation,  Champaign,  111. 


FROM  HEMPSTEAD,  TEXAS 

HEMPSTEAD,  TEX.,  November  11,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

We  voted  100  per  cent  here  to  continue  the  strike  until  we  win,  and 
it  is  our  prayer  that  all  the  strikers  will  vote  the  same.  We  think  that 
this  question  is  one  of  the  crookedest  things  that  could  ever  be  placed 
before  an  organization  of  union  men. 

We  are  already  disgraced  by  having  the  proposition  submitted  to 
us  for  a  vote,  but  we  can  save  the  ship  by  voting  it  down.  Anyone  who 
would  vote  in  the  interests  of  the  companies  and  their  scabs  is  nothing 
but  a  scab  himself,  and  is  as  devoid  of  principle  as  a  scab. 

We  have  written  to  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  asked  them  the  fol- 
lowing questions:  First,  what  will  become  of  the  strikers  if  this  propo- 
sition carries?  Second,  what  will  become  of  the  Federation  contract, 
the  demand  for  which  was  the  cause  of  the  companies  locking  us  out? 
Third,  does  the  Grand  Lodge  want  the  members  to  scab?  However, 
the  Grand  Lodge  need  not  make  any  further  explanations,  for  their 
letter  and  this  vote  show  that  they  want  to  make  scabs  of  us  all. 

Fraternally  yours, 

C.  B.  DORAN, 
Secretary  Federation,  Box  No.  42,  Hempstead,  Tex. 

FROM  COUNCIL  BLUFFS 

COUNCIL  BLUFFS,  November  11,  1914. 

To  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OFFICERS,  B.  R.  C.  OF  A., 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

The  striking  carmen  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
and  members  of  Bluff  City  Lodge,  No.  93,  do  hereby  present  to  you  the 
following  resolutions : 

WHEREAS,  We  have  been  on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  for  the  past  three  years;  realizing  that  this  is  a  strike 
of  grave  importance  to  organized  labor,  and  as  good  union  carmen, 


288  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

we  fully  realize  now,  as  we  did  before  the  strike,  that  we  would  not 
receive  strike  benefits,  but  nevertheless  voted  for  a  strike  in  the  face  of 
the  inability  to  pay  strike  benefits;  and 

WHEREAS,  After  three  years  of  strike,  we  consider  that  the  con- 
dition of  these  companies  are  such  that  we  have  them  whipped;  there- 
fore, be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  lodge  regard  the  action  taken  by  the  Grand 
Lodge,  to  call  the  strike  off,  as  dealing  a  death  blow  to  the  labor  move- 
ment in  general,  and  we  hereby  arise  in  protest  against  the  action  taken 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers. 

Signed  by  the  following  strikers: 

G.  W.  HEFFNEH, 
J.  P.  JOHNSON, 
CARL  NELSON, 
AUGUST  JENTZEN, 
M.  HAHN, 
NELS  HANSEN, 
P.  LABSEN, 
F.  L.  DAUB, 
J.  HANSEN, 
Louis  JOHNSON, 
CHARLES  C.  JOHNSON, 
J.  HANSON,  Secretary, 
B.  R.  C.  of  A.,  No.  93,  Council  Bluffs,  la. 

FROM  CHICAGO 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  14,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

Our  warm-hearted,  weak-kneed,  cold-footed  officers  of  the  Railway 
Department  have  become  sorry  for  the  railroads  and  put  out  a  vote 
to  call  off  the  strikes,  and  by  so  doing  help  them  to  get  back  on  their 
feet  at  the  expense  of  the  labor  movement. 

Brothers,  this  is  about  the  worst  yet.  You  talk  about  the  fellow 
that  deserts  the  ranks  now  and  then  and  goes  back  in,  and  what  a  traitor 
he  is  and  all  that,  which  he  is,  but  that  is  not  to  be  compared  to  this 
deal,  where  our  leaders,  or  supposed-to-be  leaders,  ask  us  to  become 
traitors  to  ourselves  and  the  labor  movement  at  large. 

Why,  brothers,  that  ballot  is  the  rottenest  thing  that  I  have  ever 
seen  in  all  my  years  in  the  labor  movement.  It  is  so  worded  that  you 
are  compelled  to  vote  as  they  want  you  to.  If  you  vote  to  continue 
the  strike,  it  is  a  vote  to  discontinue  your  financial  assistance,  as  the 
ballot  asks  you  if  you  desire  to  continue  the  strikes  after  the  discon- 
tinuance of  financial  benefits. 

Now,  brothers,  let's  get  busy  and  vote  this  outrageous  proposition 
down  and  by  so  doing  whip  the  railroads  and  the  cold-footed  ginks  that 
are  in  line  with  them. 

Let  victory  and  no  compromise  still  be  our  password. 

I.  J.  CUNDIFP, 

Secretary  Federation,  Chicago,  HL 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      289 

FROM  OGDEN,  UTAH 

OGDEN,  UTAH,  November  12,  1914. 

By  the  time  this  paper  reaches  you  the  ballots  that  have  been  sent 
broadcast  are  in  the  hands  of  every  striker  and  some  are  debating 
whether  to  vote  "YES"  or  "NO."  It  was  the  most  cowardly  thing  a 
bunch  of  men  ever  did  when  they  ordered  those  ballots  sent  out  and 
then  say  they  are  union  men.  I  am  sure  that  if  the  men  who  have 
remained  on  the  firing  line  had  been  consulted  the  ballots  would  never 
have  been  sent  out.  The  merchants  in  this  town  knew  a  month  ago  that 
these  ballots  were  going  to  be  sent  out.  Please  tell  us  how  they  knew 
this  ahead  of  we  strikers?  Brothers,  take  warning  and  vote  this  down 
and  rebuke  those  who  ordered  the  ballots  sent  out.  Our  opinion  is  that 
anyone  voting  to  call  this  strike  off  is  just  as  big  a  scab  as  anyone  that 
is  working  for  the  Harriman  Lines  at  the  present  time.  If  the  company 
have  all  the  scabs  they  want  (and  those  better  than  ever),  why  are  they 
trying  to  get  the  strikers  to  go  back? 

Several  strikers  who  have  not  been  doing  picket  duty  received  let- 
ters this  week  from  the  company  wanting  them  to  come  back  to  work. 
The  company  knew  this  vote  was  being  sent  out  and  this  is  just  a  bluff 
on  their  part,  trying  to  make  the  strikers  believe  the  lay-off  due  to  the 
work  being  up  in  first-class  shape,  therefore  trying  to  influence  the  vote. 

Now,  brothers,  vote  "NO"  on  the  ballots  you  now  have.  Put  your 
shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  advertise  the  struck  roads  and  their  scabs. 
Tell  your  friends  that  are  going  to  the  FAIR  that  there  is  still  a  strike 
on  the  Illinois  and  Harriman  Lines. 

Brothers,  don't  vote  yourselves  scabs.  God  never  loved  a  quitter. 
We  have  no  use  for  a  scab  or  quitter  either. 

F.  C.  DUNN, 
Secretary  Ogden  Federation  of  Strikers. 

RESOLUTION 

EAST  ST.  Louis,  ILL.,  November  14,  1914. 
STRIKE  BULLETIN, 

Clinton,  111. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  as  fully  ex- 
plaining our  attitude  on  the  calling  off  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman Lines;  also  the  Pere  Marquette  strike: 

WHEREAS,  We  have  been  on  strike  for  a  period  of  thirty-seven 
months  fighting  for  a  principle  which  we  deemed  necessary  in  the  daily 
walks  of  fife,  in  order  that  we  may  be  able  to  meet  our  duties  as  men; 
and 

WHEREAS,  We  fully  realize  the  vast  amount  of  money  that  this 
strike  has  cost  the  Grand  Lodges;  also  the  local  lodges  and  rank  and 
file  in  general,  and  that  at  the  same  time  has  almost  bankrupted  the 
Illinois  Central  and  other  struck  lines;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  cannot  at  the  present  time  see  how  we  can  better 
ourselves  by  calling  off  this  strike,  when  by  doing  so  we  are  trying  vast 
numbers  of  good  loyal  union  men  onto  the  outside  public,  with  the  strain 
of  having  erred  three  years  ago  and  taking  three  years  to  find  it  out;  and 


290  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

WHEREAS,  We  have  never  heard  of  any  strike  being  called  off, 
where  the  men  have  made  any  progress  at  all,  but  what  come  from  the 
men  on  the  firing  line  or  the  corporation  officials,  who  are  one  of  the  two 
great  factors;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  have  made  great  progress  in  the  lines  of  organ- 
ization in  the  way  of  showing  other  union  men  and  company  officials 
the  necessity  of  the  system  federation,  and  the  right  to  organize  such; 
and 

WHEREAS,  We  are  now  called  upon  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
to  stop  all  strike  benefits  and  discontinue  a  strike  after  December  1, 
1914,  we  are  asked  by  the  men  whom  we  pay  our  money  to  not  to  ask 
them  how  we  want  it  spent.  We  ask  you,  who  pays  the  freight  of  these 
strikes — and  you  on  the  firing  line— did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Grand 
Lodge  officer  getting  sued  in  the  courts  or  losing  his  house  or  other 
property  (other  than  his  honor  or  a  good  name)  ?  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  East  St.  Louis  Local  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral System  Federation  go  on  record  as  condemning  the  action  of  the 
different  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  putting  forth  such  a  ballot  at  this 
time;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  request  all  strikers  who  are  in  good  stand- 
ing to  vote  against  calling  the  strike  off  at  a  time  when  we  deem  we 
still  have  a  chance  to  gain  honorable  settlement;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  send  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  each 
point  on  the  Illinois  Central;  also  to  the  System  Federation  officers  and 
to  the  Strike  Bulletin  and  Federationist. 

E.  NASH,  President, 
EDER   F.  MASON,  Secretary. 
East  St.  Louis  Local  System  Federation. 

RESOLUTIONS  FROM  PORTLAND 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  November  9,  1914. 

Resolutions  of  Rose  City  Local  Shop  Federation  of  the  Harriman 
Lines : 

WHEREAS,  September  30,  1911,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  men  work- 
ing on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  came  out  on  strike  for 
the  principle  of  federation  and  have  fought  for  the  same  for  the  last 
thirty-seven  months;  and 

WHEREAS,  There  is  now  a  referendum  being  spread  broadcast  by 
the  railroad  department  to  call  off  the  said  strike,  and  this  to  be  done 
with  short  notice,  which  is  inadequate  to  give  the  rank  and  file  a  chance 
to  consider  the  momentousness  of  the  situation;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  different  crafts  affil- 
iated with  the  Rose  Local  Shop  Federation  of  the  Harriman  Lines, 
do  hereby  protest  against  the  calling  off  of  the  strike,  for  to  do  so 
will  only  work  a  further  detriment  to  our  stand  for  federated  action; 
and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  that  to  put  out  this  ballot  without 
giving  those  involved  a  chance  to  be  represented  at  the  meeting  at 
which  plans  were  made  to  put  out  the  ballot,  appears  like  an  act  of  bad 
faith  and  the  short  notice  enhances  that  appearance.  Especially  as  the 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      291 

Industrial  Relation  Commission  is  going  to  investigate  the  strike,  this 
action  will  work  to  the  interest  of  our  enemies  and  take  away  our  argu- 
ment, making  an  investigation  of  that  which  does  not  exist  unnecessary 
and  the  money  expended  in  collecting  data  will  be  wasted. 

(Signed)         STEPHEN  TAYLOR,  Machinists. 

CHARLES  ANDERSON,  Boilermakers. 

C.  E.  GARDNER,  Blacksmiths. 

R.  SINFIELD,  Carmen. 

C.  R.  MERRILL,  Secretary  Committee. 

FROM  A  LIVE  BUNCH 

DANVILLE,  ILL.,  November  14,  1914. 

To  THE  OFFICERS  OF  THE  I.  A.  OF  M.: 

Vermillion  Lodge  No.  473  is  in  receipt  of  Circular  Letter  No.  48, 
issued  and  authorized  by  our  Grand  Lodge  officers.  In  regular  session 
after  a  careful  study  and  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject,  a  motion 
was  made  and  unanimously  adopted  that  if  the  strikers  should  reject 
the  proposition  of  calling  oif  the  strike,  this  lodge  would  give  the  strike 
its  financial  and  moral  support  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past. 

The  proposition  was  then  submitted  to  the  strikers,  and  a  tabulation 
showed  19  in  favor  of  continuing  the  strike  and  one  in  favor  of  calling 
it  off.  In  view  of  this  fact,  a  committee  was  appointed  and  the  resolu- 
tion drawn  up,  presented  and  adopted  by  this  body. 

RESOLUTION  ADOPTED  BY  VERMILLION  LODGE  No.  473 

WHEREAS,  Grand  Lodge  has  decided  to  suspend  the  payment  of 
strike  benefits  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Pere  Marquette  Railroads  and 
have  initiated  a  referendum  for  calling  off  said  strikes.  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  Vermillion  Lodge  No.  473  be  placed  on  record  as 
condemning  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  in  this  action.  They  have  taken  a 
most  unwise,  untimely,  untrue  and  detrimental  course  to  the  strikers  in 
the  organization  in  general.  That  they  have  usurped  the  power  of  the 
initiative,  which  rightfully  belongs  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the  strikers. 
They  have  adopted  a  policy  playing  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  rail- 
roads. Therefore,  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  and  letter  be  sent  to  our 
International  President  and  Executive  Board,  the  Strike  Bulletin,  Fed- 
erationist,  and  a  copy  be  spread  on  the  minutes. 

F.  E.  DUNCAN, 
FRED  WHITTING, 
C.  B.  ADAMS, 

Committee,  Vermillion  Lodge  No.  473. 
ROBERT  FRYMAN,  Sec'y. 

Now  that  you  have  heard  from  some  of  "My  Rebel" 
friends,  you  are  in  a  better  position  to  determine  what  the 
attitude  of  the  common  folks  were  in  regard  to  the  calling  off 
of  the  strikes. 


292  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

It  was  said  by  Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton  and  others  that  Carl 
Person  was  the  only  one  that  wanted  to  continue  the  strike, 
but  now  that  I  have  submitted  some  of  the  evidence  from  the 
strike  zone,  we  find  that  the  Grand  Lodge  proposition  was 
opposed  from  all  directions. 

The  wide-awake  men  got  into  action  as  never  before  and 
arose  in  their  anger  and  protested  against  the  action  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers.  The  Strike  Bulletin  performed  a  serv- 
ice that  was  more  than  valuable,  and  with  it,  as  an  avenue  of 
publicity,  we  snowed  their  proposition  under.  When  the  votes 
were  counted  it  was  carried  by  a  large  maj  ority  not  to  declare 
the  strike  off,  even  though  they  had  cut  off  the  strike  benefits. 
The  few  men  on  the  line  and  their  friends  throughout  the 
country  stood  up  against  the  accumulated  efforts  of  the 
International  organizations  and  licked  them,  licked  them  on 
their  proposition  as  they  were  never  licked  before.  Our  suc- 
cess in  this  can  be  attributed  to  the  publicity  we  were  able  to 
give  it,  and  when  it  was  all  over  they  were  fully  aware  of  the 
fact  that  it  was  publicity  that  we  licked  them  with,  and  now 
the  Strike  Bulletin  was  loved  by  them — about  as  much  as  a 
pantry  mouse  loves  the  kitchen  cat. 

And  so  that  there  will  be  no  doubt  about  the  facts  that  the 
Strike  Bulletin  licked  all  the  accumulated  forces  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  Presidents,  we  must  call  President  W.  H.  Johnston,  of 
the  Machinists,  to  the  witness  stand,  in  which  he  makes  the 
following  statement  r 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS 
Office  of  Grand  Lodge— 400-407  McGill  Bldg. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  12,  1914. 

ILLINOIS  CENTRAL,  HARRIMAN  AND  PERE  MAHQTJETTE  STRIKES 
OFFICIAL  CIRCULAR  No.  61 

To  THE  ORDER  EVERYWHERE,  GREETING. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  I  am  herewith  furnishing  you  tabulated 
vote  of  the  several  organizations  involved  in  these  strikes  per  circular 
No.  48,  which  was  sent  to  our  lodges  October  31,  1914. 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      293 

To  Continue    To  Discontinue 

Strike  Strike 

International  Association  Machinists 750  461 

Brotherhood  of  Railway  Carmen 422  277 

Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths  &  Helpers 185  56 

Sheet  Metal  Workers,  I.  A 29  18 

Brotherhood  of  Boilermakers  &  Helpers 215  240 

1,601  1,052 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  out  of  the  many  thousand  men  who  came 
out  on  strike,  so  few  took  enough  interest  to  vote  on  such  a  vital  ques- 
tion. The  vote  indicates  a  desire  to  continue  the  strike  under  the  con- 
ditions outlined  in  circular  No.  48. 

I  am  giving  you  this  information  at  the  very  earliest  possible  mo- 
ment, as  we  only  received  the  vote  of  the  other  organizations  yesterday. 

Fraternally  and  respectfully  submitted, 

WM.   H.  JOHNSTON, 
International   President. 

As  you  have  noticed  in  Mr.  Johnston's  circular,  he  admits 
that  we  defeated  their  proposition  of  calling  the  strike  off, 
and  now  you  would  naturally  think  that  this  decision  of  the 
rank  and  file  would  be  accepted  and  this  matter  settled.  But 
there  was  another  attack  made  on  the  strikers,  as  we  shall  note 
later  on. 

It  will  also  be  well  to  remember  that  at  the  Kansas  City 
convention  of  the  Railway  Department  for  1914  (reference, 
Minutes)  arrangements  and  preparations  had  been  made  for 
the  United  States  Industrial  Commission  to  make  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  strikes.  Money  had  been  appropriated  for  the 
expense,  and  Grand  Lodge  representatives  had  run  around 
every  terminal  point  on  strike  in  search  for  evidence  that 
would  be  effective  for  the  investigation.  Attorney  Frank 
Comerf  ord  had  been  at  work  some  eight  months  preparing  his 
case,  and  made  a  canvass  of  the  entire  situation.  Money  and 
time  had  been  spent  to  carry  on  this  investigation  that  would 
possibly  lead  to  a  favorable  settlement  of  the  strikes.  But 
they  came  in  their  might  on  October  31,  1914,  to  declare  the 
strikes  off,  so  that  whatever  benefits  there  could  come  from 
the  investigation  would  be  discredited.  There  would  then  be 
no  strike  to  settle  after  the  investigation  had  been  made,  for, 


294  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

if  they  had  declared  the  strike  off  before,  there  could  be  no 
possible  chance  of  securing  a  settlement  of  the  strikes  after  the 
investigation.  What  motive  was  back  of  their  efforts  to  dis- 
credit the  strikers'  cause  before  the  Commission  by  establish- 
ing a  state  of  affairs  that  would  enable  the  railroad  com- 
panies to  come  before  this  Commission  and  state  that  they  are, 
or  were,  going  to  be  investigated  for  something  that  does  not 
exist,  inasmuch  as  the  strikes  on  their  roads  were  to  be  declared 
off  six  months  ago.  The  strikers'  cause  could  stand  surren- 
dered, as  far  as  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  were  concerned, 
in  order  that  the  railroad  companies  could  be  relieved  of  the 
embarrassment  of  coming  up  before  the  Commission  and 
confess  that  the  strike  had  cost  them  millions  and  millions  of 
dollars. 

While  their  hungry  desires  of  calling  the  strike  off  failed, 
it  had  its  good  results  as  far  as  the  "dips"  were  concerned, 
for  it  weakened  the  movement,  as  any  movement  is  weakened 
when  the  movement's  leaders  get  yellow  and  display  every 
action  of  being  the  servant  of  those  that  are  fighting  labor. 

Thousands  of  the  worthy  brothers  sat  idly  by  and  watched 
this  passing  show,  and  were  successfully  coaxed  into  the 
belief  that  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  actuated  with 
pure  motives  by  trying  to  declare  the  strike  off  before  the 
investigation  came  up  to  discredit  its  possible  good  results. 
Whether  it  would  have  been  instrumental  in  the  settlement  of 
the  strikers  or  not,  it  was  bound  to  result  favorably  to  the 
men  on  strike,  which  it  eventually  did  by  bringing  to  the  sur- 
face some  of  the  methods  used  by  the  company,  and  made  the 
minutes  of  the  investigation  a  matter  of  public  record.  Had 
not  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  pulled  off  the  job  they  did 
in  November,  1914,  the  investigation  would  have  brought 
much  greater  results  to  the  men  on  strike  than  it  did.  The 
Grand  Lodge  officers  in  their  desire  to  make  the  strike  a  dead 
issue  before  this  investigation  came  up,  were  either  carrying 
out  the  instructions  of  the  railroad  companies,  or  they  were 
confronted  with  the  fear  that  their  conduct  in  the  strike  would 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      295 

also  be  placed  under  investigation,  in  which  case  it  would  have 
developed  that  they  were  greater  enemies  of  the  Federation 
than  the  railroad  companies  themselves.  They  were,  how- 
ever, very  anxious  to  pull  down  the  curtains  on  the  stage  that 
they  raised  them  on  in  1911,  before  Mr.  Frank  Walsh  and 
his  Commission  could  get  around  to  photograph  the  situation. 

In  this  fight  to  keep  them  from  declaring  the  strike  off 
we  had  an  opportunity  to  test  men  as  never  before.  Of  course, 
you  understand  that  Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  President  of  the 
Railway  Department,  who  came  in  with  his  kind  testimonials 
in  May,  1913,  and  who  had  then  appreciated  all  the  good  work 
the  Strike  Bulletin  was  doing,  was  now  a  lost  comrade  in  the 
fight.  Somehow  and  somewhere  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  got 
him  again  and  he  fell.  The  fight  got  too  strong  for  him,  and 
so,  in  November,  1914,  he  fell  from  the  cause  that  could  never 
be  surrendered,  as  Jack  Buckalew  and  McCreery  fell  by  the 
wayside  in  December,  1912. 

Mr.  Wharton  had,  however,  been  in  other  places  before 
during  the  strike,  when  he  cried  in  despair;  one  was  during 
July,  in  1912,  as  you  will  remember,  during  the  general  strike 
vote,  when  he  had  nothing  but  a  wet  blanket  for  the  situation 
then,  but  after  standing  by  and  watching  McCreery  and  Jack 
Buckalew  play  ball  for  a  while,  he  jumped  in  with  all  the 
enthusiasm  he  possessed. 

There  are  no  records  in  any  of  the  craft  journals  any 
place  where  any  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers,  Vice  Presidents 
or  Business  Agents,  came  out  in  this  fight  and  helped  the  men 
on  the  firing  line  to  keep  the  strike  from  being  called  off. 
What  was  done  was  done  by  the  men  from  the  ranks  through- 
out the  country. 

Not  any  of  the  payroll  delegates  dared  to  say  a  word 
during  the  month  of  November,  1914,  while  the  strike  vote 
was  being  taken.  This  seemed  to  be  a  unanimous  action  with 
but  one  exception,  that  of  President  Kline,  of  the  Blacksmiths, 
who,  according  to  the  following  letter,  opposed  the  other 
General  Presidents.  It  is  here  published  in  full: 


296  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

INTERNATIONAL   BROTHERHOOD   OF   BLACKSMITHS   AND 

HELPERS 

CHICAGO,  October  30,  1914. 

To  THE  OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  or  THE  INTERNATIONAL  BROTHERHOOD 

OF  BLACKSMITHS  AND  HELPERS. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  The  enclosed  letter  and  ballots  is  for  the 
purpose  of  voting  on  whether  you  wish  to  continue  the  strike  on  the 
Illinois  Central,  Harriman  Lines  and  the  Pere  Marquette  Railroads, 
without  funds  or  not.  The  General  Officers  whose  names  are  signed 
to  the  enclosed  letter  met  in  Kansas  City,  October  21  and  22  and  de- 
cided upon  this  action.  The  letter  enclosed  states  that  we  have  been 
complimented  and  condemned  for  keeping  the  strike  on.  I  want  to  say 
that  so  far  as  the  Blacksmiths'  organization  is  concerned,  I  have  had 
very  few  letters  condemning  me,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  had 
members,  both  along  the  picket  line  and  those  that  are  working  else- 
where, urging  me  to  fight  this  strike  to  a  finish  and  never  surrender.  I 
am  willing  to  do  so  if  our  membership  votes  that  way,  and  will  renew 
their  efforts  to  help  us  pay  those  that  are  on  the  picket  line. 

We  are  behind  with  our  picket  money  now,  but  we  are  gaining  as 
we  go  along,  and  we  hope  to  catch  up  soon.  I  want  to  work  in  har- 
mony with  the  other  organizations,  and  therefore  I  agreed  at  the  Kan- 
sas City  meeting  to  put  this  matter  up  to  our  Brotherhood  for  them 
to  decide. 

I  have  some  pretty  strong  convictions,  and  have  had  them  all 
through  this  strike,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  record  we  have  made 
in  this  strike.  I  have  never  been  afraid  to  express  my  opinion,  whether 
it  be  in  public  or  private.  Rather  than  to  try  to  influence  you  one  way 
or  the  other,  I  leave  it  with  the  membership  to  vote  whether  you  wish 
to  continue  the  strike  under  the  conditions  expressed  in  the  letter  signed 
by  the  General  Officers. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  about  calling  the  strike  off  now-a-days  from 
different  sources,  but  the  Blacksmiths  are  not  responsible  for  these 
reports.  We  have  stood  from  the  beginning  until  the  present  time  for 
a  clean-cut  finish  fight,  but  craft  jealousy  has  done  much  to  prolong 
the  strike. 

At  the  first  Kansas  City  convention  the  attempt  to  take  leadership 
away  from  a  small  organization  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  another 
was  frustrated.  However,  since  that  time  everybody  has  been  boss. 
I  have  attended  no  conference  with  railroad  officials — only  those  that 
have  been  called  regularly — and  therefore  have  given  them  no  reason 
to  think  the  Blacksmiths  were  quitters. 

I  repeat  that  I  believe  in  majority  rule,  and  that  I  agreed  at  the 
recent  Kansas  City  meeting  to  place  this  up  to  our  membership  for 
them  to  decide,  but  I  also  stated  that  I  reserved  the  right  to  explain 
my  position  to  our  craft.  I  will  not  shoulder  the  responsibility  of  others' 
failures,  and  I  have  a  right  to  so  inform  our  members.  I  will  say 
further  that  this  strike  has  not  had  the  enthusiastic  support  of  all  the 
International  officers.  I  again  repeat  that  I  will  do  everything  in  my 
power  to  raise  finances  for  that  purpose.  I  cannot  tell  you  whether  I 
will  be  very  successful  in  that  or  not. 

I  am  sending  these  letters  to  all  of  our  locals  and  urge  that  all 
the  members  who  went  on  strike  as  per  the  letter  enclosed  vote  YES 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      297 

OP  NO  and  do  so  as  EARLY  as  possible,  so  that  they  can  be  in  this 
office  to  be  counted  by  the  23rd  of  NOVEMBER. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     J.  W.  KLINE, 

General  President. 

At  this  stage  of  the  game  it  is  evident  that  President 
Kline  was  the  only  Grand  Lodge  officer  that  had  not  been 
whipped  into  line  with  the  Johnston-Wharton  machine.  Mr. 
Kline  fought  the  strikers'  cause,  voted  against  withdrawing  the 
strike  benefits  and  objected  to  the  sending  out  of  the  letter 
to  vote  on  the  calling  off  of  the  strike. 

According  to  the  above  letter,  Kline  had  notified  the  ma- 
chine that  he  would  reserve  the  right  to  explain  his  position 
by  circular  letter  to  the  members  of  the  organization  he 
represented. 

When  our  readers  peruse  this  book  and  note  the  attitude 
of  the  President  of  the  Railway  Department,  Mr.  Wharton, 
assisted  particularly  by  Presidents  Johnston  and  Ryan,  I  feel 
it  my  duty  to  say  that  any  man  that  would  stand  three  years 
with  such  a  group  without  being  affected  with  a  severe  case 
of  cold  feet  is  to  be  commended,  and  as  the  story  continues  you 
will  find  that  he  rang  true  to  the  cause  of  the  strikers  to  the  end. 

Business  Agent  Molloy,  who  had  been  such  a  good  federa- 
tionist  in  the  early  days,  when  Jack  Buckalew  and  McCreery 
went  on  the  shelf,  lined  right  up  with  President  Johnston 
in  this  fight,  and  therefore  this  is  the  place  where  Molloy 
fell  overboard.  As  Business  Agent  for  the  men  on  strike,  he 
failed  to  serve  them  here  at  this  time  when  his  service  was  most 
needed. 

Molloy  was  preaching  the  "all  for  one  and  one  for  all" 
on  the  Illinois  Central,  but  his  business  was  mostly  to  keep 
the  Johnston-Wharton  machine  informed  as  to  the  attitude  of 
the  men  over  the  line,  and  when  the  opportunity  would  present 
itself  to  meet  a  "weak  sister,"  he  would  sing  that  little  song 
of  "A  little  bit  now  is  better  than  nothing  at  all."  Molloy 
turned  out  to  be  a  "spotter" — a  spotter  for  the  machine. 


298  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Wharton  was  informed  of  a  dance  the  strikers  at  Burn- 
side  were  giving,  and  Molloj  was  assigned  as  the  operator 
to  render  a  report  in  full  on  the  proceedings,  and  later,  at  the 
Kansas  City  convention  of  the  Railway  Department  in  1916, 
Mr.  Wharton  made  a  flashlight  oration  on  Operator  Molloy's 
report,  charging  the  strikers  at  Burnside,  who  had  been  on 
strike  there  for  several  years  on  six  per  week,  with  appropri- . 
ating  to  themselves  the  profits  of  the  dance,  and  myself  for 
inefficiency  and  the  lack  of  scientific  methods  in  handling  the 
Federation,  because  I  did  not  interfere  officially  or  otherwise 
by  instructing  them  how  to  handle  their  own  local  affairs, 
which  did  not  concern  me,  Wharton,  Johnston,  or  Molloy,  or 
any  striker  outside  of  those  who  went  out  and  made  their  dance 
a  success. 

If  it  is  any  man's  duty  to  stick  with  his  fellows  when  in 
trouble,  this  duty  falls  on  the  man  that  gets  the  white  vest 
assignments  in  times  of  peace.  Molloy  got  all  this;  he  was 
their  Business  Agent ;  advised  them  to  strike ;  made  the  points 
on  the  system  before  and  after  the  strike,  and  was  the  leader 
they  depended  on  and  kept  by  them  until  they  got  so  poor 
that  there  was  a  danger  that  his  pay-day  would  not  come  at 
regularly  stipulated  intervals,  and  the  very  time  when  they 
needed  him  most — when  friends  were  few  and  far  between.  Up 
to  this  time  the  strike  had  cost  him  nothing,  for  he  was  paid, 
and  if  there  was  danger  of  his  salary  being  jeopardized  be- 
cause of  the  poverty  of  the  movement,  just  then  it  was  his 
duty  to  put  in  a  year  or  two  at  six  per  week,  like  hundreds 
of  others  had  to  do ;  for  a  Business  Agent  that  won't  take  the 
chance  with  his  fellows,  and  slip  on  their  uniforms  and  adjust 
himself  to  their  six-a-week  allowance,  has  no  business  accept- 
ing the  best  they  have  to  give  away  in  the  days  of  peace — the 
office  of  a  Business  Agent. 

If  some  strikes  are  "ill  advised,"  there  will  be  less  "ill 
advised"  strikes  in  the  future,,  when  the  common  animals  will 
get  up  on  their  hind  legs  and  demand  of  those  who  advise  the 
strike,  to  come  along  into  the  trenches  and  pay  the  price  in 


taking  a  chance  on  their  own  jobs  as  well,  and  if  they  are  not 
game  enough  to  play  this  role,  win  or  lose,  with  their  fellows, 
then  there  is  no  legitimate  place  for  them  in  the  march  of  the 
masses  for  human  progress.  They  are  simply  playing  the  role 
of  the  ammunition  agent  in  war  time,  who  profits  by  the  misfor- 
tune of  others. 

Let  me  give  you  the  attitude  of  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  during  the  time  we  went  after  them  in  the  Strike  Bulle- 
tin, and  to  give  you  this,  I  will  put  on  a  gentleman  from 
Kansas  City: 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  Dec.  15,  1914. 

Dear  Person:  I  saw  President  Franklin  out  at  the  Labor  Temple  last 
night.  Had  a  short  talk  with  him  regarding  calling  off  the  strike.  He 
was  very  careful  what  he  said,  but  laid  it  all  to  the  small  vote  cast. 

Was  up  to  Martin  Ryan's  office  yesterday.  Met  Harry  Carr,  B.  A. 
for  R.  I.,  and  Mr.  Ryan.  I  had  a  long  fight,  but  I  told  them  a  few 
things.  They  are  all  against  you,  and  it  is  very  plain  that  they  fear 
the  (Strike)  Bulletin. 

I  told  him  in  very  plain  English  that  it  was  a  dirty  act  of  thieves 
to  meet  on  the  sly  as  they  did  to  send  out  that  proposition  to  call  off 
the  strike.  I  told  them  if  they  contemplated  such  an  act  they  should 
have  conferred  with  the  live  ones  on  the  line.  Ryan  wanted  to  know 
who  they  should  have  called,  and  I  said  they  should  have  conferred 
with  you  first  of  all.  Ryan  went  into  a  fit  and  said,  "Hell,  no."  But 
he  is  sure  up  a  tree  now,  and  don't  know  how  to  account  for  their 
actions. 

Ryan  and  Harry  Carr  put  up  a  big  talk  about  how  you  are  acting 
after  they  saved  your  life,  and  about  that  $7,000  they  still  owe  Comer- 
ford.  I  did  not  tell  them  what  I  knew  to  be  a  fact,  and  that  is,  they 
only  come  across  when  it  would  be  unpopular  not  to;  and  at  that,  if 
they  would  have  been  successful  in  raising  ten  times  as  much  money, 
you  know  as  well  as  I  that  as  soon  as  they  made  agreement  with  Com- 
erford  for  $18,000,  that  the  real  rebels  said  that  is  O.  K.  Now,  let  them 
get  it  themselves.  We  stopped  our  hustling.  I  know  damn  well  we 
would  have  gotten  the  money  anyhow. 

We  all  send  you  our  kindest  regards  and  wishes,  the  whole  Bulletin 
force  a  Merry  Xmus. 

Yours  as  ever, 

L.  M.  HAWVE*. 


Now,  what  do  you  know  about  that?  Unfortunately,  dur- 
ing the  year  of  191 4t  I  spent  about  eight  months  in  jail  on  a 
murder  charge  of  which  I  was  exonerated.  You  can  hear  them 
talking  in  this  letter  what  they  did  for  my  defense  fund.  Very 


300  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

well ;  whatever  the  labor  movement  did  in  that  direction  I  tried 
to  repay  to  the  best  of  my  ability  in  honest  effort.  It  is  said 
that  there  were  38,000  men  who  went  on  strike,  and  the  ex- 
penses in  handling  the  case  cost  $18,000;  this  was  about  45 
cents  per  man,  if  the  money  came  from  the  men  who  went 
on  strike. 

The  State's  Attorney  of  Dewitt  County  and  the  Illinois 
Central  spent  three  or  four  times  this  amount  trying  to  hang 
me,  and  then  they  had  all  the  legal  machinery  of  the  county 
at  their  service.  The  Grand  Lodge  officers  did  not  put  up 
the  money.  If  my  life  had  depended  on  money,  and  then 
depended  on  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  to  pay  this  money,  then 
I  would  have  been  hung  a  hundred  times.  This  money  came 
from  the  membership  of  the  Grand  Lodge  organizations — 
the  very  people  I  served  and  stayed  on  the  j  ob  for  when  they 
were  deserted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers,  as  the  records  will 
show  they  were.  And  if  in  this  case  it  cost  them  45  cents 
apiece,  it  cost  me  four  years'  time ;  and  I  am  not  crying  over 
what  it  cost  me,  but  consider  it  well  worth  while.  I  could  have 
run  away  from  the  fight  in  the  beginning  and  have  gone  to 
work,  like  many  others  did,  and  worked  eight  hours  a  day 
instead  of  twenty  hours  on  strike  duty. 

In  Jack  Buckalew's  letter  of  December  30,  1913,  to  G.  C. 
Martin,  of  Somerset,  Ky.,  he  states  that  "PERSON  PUT 
MONEY  IN  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN."  Jack  Buckalew 
knew  this,  and  when  his  District  didn't  have  enough  money  to 
meet  the  weekly  payrolls  to  the  men  on  the  line,  I  went  out 
and  got  it,  and  Jack  Buckalew,  as  well  as  President  L.  M. 
Hawver,  of  the  District,  knew  this.  And  Jack  Buckalew  knew 
that  the  District  never  paid  me  one  cent  for  my  services  to 
them  as  Secretary,  and  here  is  an  International  President — 
M.  F.  Ryan,  of  the  Carmen — crying  because  his  members  on 
strike  put  out  45  cents  apiece  to  keep  the  Illinois  Central  from 
hanging  me,  after  he  had  found  out  that  he  couldn't  kill  the 
Federation. 

After  Jack  Buckalew  and  all  his  staff  in  Washington  had 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      301 

to  go  and  hide  themselves,  after  making  an  effort  to  break 
the  strike,  the  Illinois  Central  strike-breakers  decided  that  they 
were  going  to  move  the  "rebel  camp."  But  in  justice  to  the 
Illinois  Central  strike-breakers,  I  want  to  say  that  they  were 
honest  about  it.  They  stormed  the  camp  and  said  it  was  time 
to  move  out,  but  they  found  Jack  Buckalew's  wayward  child, 
"Brass  Tacks,"  very  much  alive  and  refusing  to  move,  but, 
instead,  moving  one  of  the  strike-breakers.  The  rebel  camp 
stood  and  was  very  much  on  the  job  again  when  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  tried  to  call  the  strike  off  in  November,  1914. 
Mr.  Ryan  thought  that  the  seven  months  in  jail  had  softened 
me  up  so  that  I  would  go  along  with  them  in  this  undertaking, 
but  when  he  found  out  that  I  wouldn't,  I  was  an  ingrate. 
And  did  M.  F.  Ryan  not  admit  in  the  Kansas  City  convention 
in  1916  that  he  said  that  it  was  too  bad  that  I  wasn't  hung. 
This  is  the  best  evidence  I  have  that  I  served  the  common 
cause  and  stood  on  the  side  that  was  worth  while,  for  should 
the  time  ever  come  when  Mr.  Ryan  and  some  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  I  met  during  the  strike  would  say  that  I  was  a 
fine  fellow,  then  I  would  at  once  know  that  I  was  wrong,  and 
that  it  was  time  to  jump  in  the  river,  or  get  across  the  line 
some  other  way. 

The  men  on  strike  were  now  deserted,  as  far  as  financial 
support  was  concerned.  The  only  organization  that  agreed 
to  pay  their  men  if  they  voted  not  to  declare  the  strike  off  was 
the  Blacksmiths ;  therefore,  the  strike  was  not  now  costing  the 
other  organizations  any  money.  Up  until  this  time  the  cry 
had  been  that  the  strike  was  a  drain  on  their  treasury,  and 
now  that  the  calling  off  of  the  strike  knocked  this  crutch  from 
under  them,  you  might  assume  that  they  would  let  the  strike 
run  along,  as  it  was  no  expense  to  them  and  they  could  gain 
nothing  by  calling  it  off,  because  the  company  would  grant  no 
concessions.  But  if  you  found  out  that  the  same  desire  was 
there  to  call  off  the  strike  after  it  was  established,  that  it  did 
not  cost  them  anything,  as  there  was  when  the  strike  was  a 
drain  on  their  treasuries.  Then  there  must  have  been  some 


302  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

other  motive  and  desire  in  the  first  place.  Outside  of  that 
excuse  they  put  up.  A  drain  upon  their  treasury. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  in  a  letter  dated  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
December  1,  1914,  in  which  the  Strike  Bulletin  and  the  Rail- 
way Federationist  are  given  unfavorable  mention,  states,  in 
part :  "If  the  strikers  vote  to  continue  the  strike  without  bene- 
fits, then  they  have  decided  the  question  for  the  time  being." 

Take  particular  notice  to  the  term,  "the  time  being."  This 
indicates  that  if  they  are  not  successful  in  their  attempt  at 
this  time,  something  else  is  going  to  happen.  This  statement 
was  made  before  Mr.  Wharton  knew  what  the  result  of  the 
vote  was  going  to  be. 

Let  me  call  your  attention  to  Mr.  Johnston,  of  the  Ma- 
chinists. He  talks  very  interestingly  on  page  253  of  the  March 
issue  of  the  Machinists9  Journal  for  1915,  paragraph  5,  under 
the  caption  of  "The  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
Strikes": 

The  question  of  whether  these  strikes  should  be  continued  or  dis- 
continued was  submitted  to  the  men  involved,  with  the  distinct  under- 
standing that  no  further  benefits  would  be  paid.  A  vote  was  taken 
and  a  majority  of  those  who  voted  favored  continuing  the  strike.  I 
feel  confident,  however,  that  were  it  not  for  the  pernicious  influence  that 
was  brought  to  bear  by  certain  self-appointed  leaders,  who  are  serv- 
ing their  own  selfish  interest,  the  recent  vote  would  have  resulted 
differently. 

Some  of  those  who  recently  voted  in  favor  of  continuing  the  strike 
are  now  suggesting  that  another  ballot  be  taken,  and  the  entire  member- 
ship be  given  a  chance  to  decide  this  question.  If  the  Machinists  only 
were  concerned,  the  matter  could  be  disposed  of  quickly,  but  as  it  is 
a  Federation  affair,  we  must  be  governed  by  the  majority. 

I  do  not  need  any  further  proof  than  Mr.  Johnston's 
own  statement  to  show  you  what  Mr.  Johnston's  desires  and 
intentions  were  when  the  vote  was  submitted  to  the  men.  The 
strikers  licked  him  and  now  he  is  giving  the  "self-appointed 
leaders"  credit  for  putting  it  all  over  him  and  his  entire  staff. 
Wouldn't  he  and  his  messengers  be  easy  money  for  those  that 
have  brains  and  money,  when  a  fellow  can  appoint  himself 
a  leader  and  force  Johnston  to  look  for  shelter,  as  Mr.  John- 
ston is  admitting?  If  he  had  any  self-respect  at  all,  he 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      303 

wouldn't  come  out  and  admit  it  in  his  own  journal,  but  he  hasn't 
got  brains  enough  to  realize  that  he  was  only  discrediting 
himself  by  coming  out  crying  after  he  was  licked.  He  further 
tries  to  convey  that  the  strikers  who  voted  to  continue  the 
strike  have  come  to  him  with  prayers  to  give  them  another 
opportunity  to  vote,  as  they  made  a  mistake.  Here  Mr. 
Johnston  deliberately  lies ;  some  of  his  colleagues  in  the  "inner 
circle"  are  the  ones  that  suggested  this  to  him. 

He  ends  up  by  stating  "that  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  federation 
affair,  we  must  be  governed  by  the  majority.  Had  it  only  been 
the  machinists  that  were  concerned,  he  would  dispose  of  it 
quickly." 

You  have  it  from  Mr.  Johnston  direct  that  there  is  no 
majority  rule  in  the  Machinists'  organization.  He  will  decide 
what  and  what  not  the  Machinists  can  do.  It  did  not  take  us 
very  long  to  find  out  that  the  Railway  Department  as  well  were 
not  concerned  in  what  the  majority  did,  for  they  finally  took 
the  majority's  decision  and  threw  it  in  the  waste  basket.  And 
his  very  statements  in  the  March  issue,  as  above  quoted,  indi- 
cate that  although  the  vote  had  been  taken,  and  the  strikers 
found  true,  they  have  something  else  up  their  sleeves.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  strike  is  not  costing  him  or  the  Association 
one  cent  at  this  time,  or  had  not  cost  him  anything  since  the 
first  of  December,  1914,  why  are  they  so  anxious  to  have  it 
declared  off?  It  was  costing  the  railroad  companies  $7,000,- 

000  per  month   (Johnston's  admission  in  his  circular  letter 
of  March  11,  1912)  and  the  Association  nothing  at  this  time. 

Possibly  Mr.  Johnston  had  some  of  his  friends  scabbing  on 
the  roads  and  wanted  to  relieve  them  of  the  "unpleasantness." 
He  must  have  had  larger  reasons,  but  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  know  what  the  Executive  Board  member,  Chas.  Nicholson, 
of  the  I.  A.  of  M.,  says  in  his  letter  dated  at  Colorado  Springs, 
Colo.,  May  29,  1915,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Paragraph  2 : 

The  cog  road  going  up  Pike's  Peak  are  paying  20  cents  per  hour. 

1  was  up  there  today.     I  have  had  one  meeting  with  our  men.     They 


304  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

are,  or  were,  on  the  verge  of  a  bad  split  on  account  of  one  man  going 
to  work  on  the  "Short  Line,"  with  permission  from  Brother  Johnston 
eight  months  ago.  He  has  been  paying  his  dues  here  all  this  time  and 
is  still  in  good  standing,  and  now,  about  the  time  the  strike  is  to  be 
"called  off,"  some  of  them  want  to  expel  him,  and  have  preferred 

charges,  and  it  has  played  h under  the  circumstances.     I  got  them 

to  withdraw  them,  to  give  me  a  chance  to  do  something.  I  have  got 
things  lined  up  in  good  shape.  The  hatchet  is  buried. 

According  to  Mr.  Nicholson,  Johnston  must  have  put  his 
friends  to  work  on  the  struck  roads  about  September,  1914, 
as  he  had  worked  there  eight  months.  The  important  part 
of  Mr.  Nicholson's  letter  is  the  fact  that  Mr.  Nicholson  is 
aware  of  the  fact  that  the  strike  is  "about  to  be  called  off." 
Take  notice  of  this.  They  asked  the  men  to  do  it  themselves  in 
November,  1914,  and  they  refused;  but  you  can  see  where 
plans  are  now  being  laid  to  pull  off  another  shady  job, 
can't  you? 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  continued  to  cry  in  the  columns 
of  their  j  ournals  over  the  fact  that  they  were  defeated  on  the 
strike  vote  proposition  as  submitted  in  November,  1914,  and 
for  further  information  to  substantiate  this  I  am  introducing 
several  points  from  the  strike  zone: 

STRIKE  BULLETIN 
Clinton,  111.,  Wednesday,  March  17,  1915 


FRANK  CONNOR,  THE   POET  OF  WATERLOO,  RAPS   PRESIDENT  JOHNSTON 


Well  Known  Writer  Makes   Urgent   Demand   for   Militant   Unionism 

WATERLOO,  IOWA,  March  17. 

Now  that  the  United  States  Industrial  Relations  Commission  has 
set  a  definite  date  (April  5)  to  take  up  the  matter  of  the  Shopmen's 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  and  the  Pere  Mar- 
quette,  there  is  a  probability  that  some  of  our  Grand  Lodge  officers 
will  make  another  effort  to  have  a  vote  taken  to  have  the  strike  declared 
off.  As  a  forerunner  of  what  may  be  expected  if  the  true  union  men  in 
the  rank  and  file  of  organized  labor  do  not  get  busy,  we  would  refer  you 
to  the  statement  of  International  President  Wm.  H.  Johnston,  of  the 
I.  A.  of  M.,  which  appeared  on  page  253  of  the  March  issue  of  the 
Machinists'  Journal,  relative  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strike. 

In  this  article  you  will  find  that  one  of  our  duly  elected  servants 
exposes  himself  under  the  spotlight  in  all  his  various  colors.  To  enter 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      305 

into  a  tirade  of  abuse  and  condemnation  against  such  scab  incubators 
is  only  a  waste  of  time,  we  know,  that  what  is  urgently  necessary  is  the 
recall  from  office  of  any  or  all  such  officers  who  have  proven  by  their 
own  conviction  that  they  are  no  longer  with  the  strikers  in  this  long 
struggle. 

The  striking  brothers  who  have  proven  to  be  staunch  and  true  by 
staying  on  the  field  of  battle  through  all  the  months  of  this  strike  are 
not  looking  for  any  bouquets;  all  we  want  is  justice  and  the  backing  of 
other  true  union  men  throughout  the  rank  and  file  of  organized  labor. 
We  want  something  more  substantial  and  more  encouraging  than  being 
dubbed  "self-appointed  leaders"  and  being  accused  of  "serving  our 
own  selfish  purpose."  If  the  fact  that  we  have  sacrificed  nearly  every- 
thing that  was  near  and  dear  to  ourselves  and  our  loved  ones  is  what 
would  be  termed  "serving  our  own  selfish  purpose,"  then  we  must  state 
that  somebody's  conception  of  the  term  is  badly  befuddled. 

If  forty  thousand  strikers  cannot  win  a  strike  in  a  period  of  forty 
months,  and  our  trusted  and  elected  officers  have  not  got  the  backbone 
to  continue  the  strike  for  forty  months  longer,  or  forty  times  forty, 
if  necessary,  then,  in  the  name  of  God,  what  incentive  has  an  organi- 
zation committee  to  go  out  among  the  unorganized  and  make  them  a 
present  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  as  a  propaganda  sheet  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trying  to  get  the  unorganized  to  join  an  organization  whose 
International  President  admits  in  bold  type  that  one  of  the  largest  and 
one  of  the  very  longest  strikes  of  that  organization,  in  his  opinion,  is  a 
failure? 

What  standard  of  reasoning  prompted  Brother  Wm.  H.  Johnston 
to  make  a  detrimental  statement  of  this  kind?  Is  he  utterly  lacking  of 
good  common  sense  and  true  union  principles,  or  was  he  never  endowed 
with  these  virtues?  Why  these  ever-saturating  crocodile  tears  because 
he  is  unable  to  get  these  strikes  voted  to  be  declared  off  and  the  union 
turned  into  a  scab-harboring  institution? 

If  it  is  the  tainted  scab-earned  money  that  they  want  in  the  form  of 
dues  from  the  reinstated  and  whitewashed  scabs,  in  order  to  pay  high 
salaries  to  Grand  Lodge  officers,  who  use  their  influence  to  have  strikes 
called  off,  then  the  sooner  we  get  busy  and  have  a  housecleaning,  the 
sooner  we  will  get  a  federated  agreement  on  the  struck  roads  and  the 
present  federated  agreements  on  other  roads  renewed. 

(Signed)     FRANK  CONNOR, 
Secretary  Machinists'  Lodge  No.  314,  I.  A.  of  M. 

STRIKE  BULLETIN 
Clinton,  111.,  Wednesday,  March  31,  1915 


OAKLAND   WRTTEK   STRIKES   AT   MACHINIST   PRESIDENT    IN   DEFENSE   OF 

STRIKERS 


Strike  Would  Have  Been  Won  if  Grand  Lodges  Had  Helped  Instead  of 
"Knocking"  Strikers 

OAKLAND,  Cal.,  March  31. — It  had  been  our  purpose  to  let  the 
little  controversy  which  has  arisen  between  the  Grand  Lodge  officers 
on  the  one  side  and  the  rank  and  file  of  the  strikers  on  the  other  side, 
on  account  of  the  latter's  attitude  toward  the  strike,  die  a  natural 


306  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

death.  But  we  would  be  false  to  our  trust  if  we  aid  not  take  this 
opportunity  to  answer  in  a  measure  the  wail  of  our  Grand  Lodge  Presi- 
dent, to  be  found  on  page  253  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  the  month 
of  March,  under  the  caption,  "THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  AND 
HARRIMAN  LINES  STRIKE."  After  wailing  about  the  cost,  the 
article  says,  "We  could  not  conscientiously  continue  to  impoverish  the 
organization,  when  there  was  not  a  single  chance  of  success." 

Speaking  of  success,  that  is  something  that  can  be  attained  only 
by  going  after  it.  Has  the  writer  done  anything  to  bring  about  the 
success  which  he  laments  so  much  about?  The  desired  results  in  this 
warfare  cannot  be  gained  by  laying  down  on  the  job  and  expecting 
the  railroads  to  hand  the  workers  their  rights  in  some  such  miraculous 
manner  as  manna  was  sent  down  to  the  children  of  Israel.  A  great  deal 
of  the  responsibility  for  not  getting  better  results  in  our  40  months 
of  strike  is  due,  not  to  the  men,  who  have  been  true  to  their  principles, 
but  to  our  leaders,  who  have  been  exactly  the  opposite. 

But  how  pitiful  is  the  next  wail!  After  stating  the  circumstances 
leading  up  to  the  taking  of  the  vote,  which  carried  in  favor  of  continu- 
ing the  strike,  he  says:  "I  feel  confident,  however,  that  were  it  not  for 
the  pernicious  influence  that  was  brought  to  bear  by  self-appointed 
leaders,  who  are  serving  their  own  selfish  interests,  the  recent  vote  would 
have  resulted  differently."  Pray,  what  do  you  mean  by  "pernicious 
influence  and  selfish  interests?"  If  any  such  influence  was  brought 
to  bear  in  that  strike  vote,  it  was  all  on  the  side  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  so  beautifully  outlined  in  their  circular  letter,  when  they  used 
the  influence  of  a  discontinuance  of  strike  benefits  to  force  the  men  to 
call  off  the  strike. 

This  is  one  point  in  our  argument  that  they  have  never  attempted 
to  answer  in  a  straight-forward  manner.  And  now,  because  the  true 
union  men,  who  had  a  principle  at  stake,  which  was  of  more  value  to 
them  than  mere  dollars  and  cents,  voted  to  continue  the  strike,  contrary 
to  the  wishes  of  their  leaders,  some  one  (the  writer  fails  to  mention  any 
one  specifically)  is  accused  of  using  "pernicious  influence."  We  will 
give  the  rank  and  file  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  say  that  when  they 
voted  THEY  KNEW  WHAT  THEY  WANTED. 

As  to  the  vote  having  been  different  had  this  influence  not  been 
brought  to  bear,  it  does  not  take  an  over-intelligent  man,  reading  between 
the  lines,  to  see  where  the  hopes  and  desires  of  the  writer  lay  in  regard 
to  this  strike.  If  those  are  his  views,  will  someone  kindly  inform  the 
rank  and  file  what  we  can  expect  from  him  in  the  way  of  co-operation 
in  winning  this  fight.  The  echo  resounds,  NOTHING. 

We  come  now  to  a  statement  which  to  us  appears  to  be  a  case 
of  handling  the  truth  rather  carelessly. 

"Some  of  those  who  so  recently  voted  in  favor  of  continuing  the 
strike  are  now  suggesting  that  another  ballot  be  taken,  and  the  entire 
membership  be  given  a  chance  to  decide  this  question."  Do  you  see  the 
point?  Try  to  get  others  who  are  not  directly  interested  in  this  strike 
to  out-vote  us,  and  COMPEL  US  TO  WORK  WITH  SCABS  AND 
UNDER  CONDITIONS  THAT  THEY  WOULD  NOT  ACCEPT. 
Fine  scheme.  It  does  not  seem  reasonable  that  any  machinist  who  voted 
to  continue  the  struggle  (knowing  at  the  time  that  the  Grand  Lodge  was 
taking  what  little  bread  and  butter  he  was  getting  out  of  his  mouth) 
would  so  soon  want  to  change  his  vote.  All  of  us  know,  or  ought  to 
know,  that  conditions  in  the  shops  are  becoming  worse  all  the  time.  And 


PRESIDENT'S  UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT      307 

as  to  letting  the  entire  membership  vote  on  this  question,  we  wish  to 
say  that  this  strike  is  not  now  costing  the  Grand  Lodge  any  strike  bene- 
fits at  all.  It  is  true  that  individual  lodges  are  sending  donations  every 
month,  showing  that  they  realize  how  much  the  winning  of  this  strike 
will  benefit  all  organized  labor.  We  are  only  too  sorry  that  so  few 
of  them  realize  this.  The  time  will  come,  however,  when  it  will  be 
impressed  upon  them  under  very  unpleasant  circumstances. 

To  the  lodges  who  have  been  our  main-stay  through  thick  and 
thin,  we  say,  God  bless  you  who  have  stood  by  us  against  the  opposition 
of  railroad  officials,  gunmen,  emissaries,  traitors,  scabs  and  last,  but 
not  least  (though  we  are  ashamed  to  have  to  confess  it),  the  "queer" 
attitude  of  our  Grand  Lodge  officers.  But  we  are  looking  for  the  time 
to  come  when  we  will  understand  this  queerness.  Possibly  some  of  the 
self-appointed  leaders  will  then  be  in  positions  of  trust,  working  for 
the  benefit  of  the  workers,  even  though  they  should  happen  to  be  strikers. 

With  best  wishes  to  all,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

JOHN  ROBERTSON", 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

The  little  army  that  rallied  around  the  Strike  Bulletin 
could  always  be  depended  on  to  resent  the  frequent  intrusions 
made  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  on  the  Federation.  John 
Robertson,  of  Oakland,  was  a  capable  and  loyal  general.  With 
him  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  Stephen  Taylor  and  Ed  Merrill  in  Port- 
land, Ore.,  the  Federation  on  the  Harriman  Lines  were  well 
guarded. 

There  was  no  particular  interest  displayed  in  the  strike 
situation  on  the  Harriman  Lines  until  John  Collings,  of  Oak- 
land, and  later  John  Robertson,  of  the  same  city,  and  Ste- 
phen Taylor  and  Ed  Merrill,  of  Portland,  were  elected  to  look 
after  the  situation  on  the  Harriman  Lines.  These  men  took 
nothing  for  granted  from  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  or  any- 
one else.  Had  the  men  who  went  on  strike  been  fortunate 
enough  to  have  these  men  look  after  the  interest  of  the  Federa- 
tion from  the  inception  of  the  strike,  there  would  have  been  a 
different  story  to  tell.  But  unfortunately  they  were  not  se- 
lected until  the  remote  stages  of  the  strike,  when  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  had  made  their  rounds  with  their  wrecking 
crews  and  were  about  to  let  the  ship  go  under. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  whatever  constructive  effort  was 
inaugurated  on  the  Harriman  Lines  came  through  the  Federa- 


308  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

tion,  and  only  through  the  Federation  after  being  reorganized 
by  the  men  I  have  mentioned  from  Oakland  and  Portland. 
The  District  officers  of  the  Machinists  and  Boilermakers,  Car- 
men and  other  organizations  were  a  tame  aggregation  of  indi- 
viduals, and  performed  nothing  in  the  interest  of  the  Federa- 
tion, and  about  as  much  for  their  respective  Districts. 

The  International  organizations  involved  in  the  strikes 
of  course  had  their  Organizers  and  Vice  Presidents  on  the  lines 
from  time  to  time,  but  as  far  as  the  Federation  and  the  adher- 
ence of  its  principles  were  concerned,  these  people  were  a  dead 
issue.  Even  though  some  of  them  felt  and  realized  that  the 
program,  as  carried  out  by  the  International  Presidents,  was 
wrecking  the  movement.  They  were  afraid  to  express  them- 
selves on  this  subject,  and  therefore  had  as  much  business 
representing  the  men  on  strike  as  one  affected  with  lockjaw 
has  in  the  pits  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 

The  average  labor  leader  we  met  during  these  strikes, 
that  was  connected  to  the  International  treasuries,  complied 
with  what  he  was  pleased  to  term  "playing  the  game,"  which 
is  pretty  well  understood  to  mean  "follow  the  lines  of  least 
resistance."  Say  nothing  and  do  nothing.  Simply  ride  along. 
And  should  some  restless  soldier  make  an  inquiry  as  to  their 
opinions  on  that  of  which  happened  to  be  the  important  sub- 
ject, they  would  generally  be  informed  "that,  of  course,  I,  as 
an  International  officer,  can  not  afford  to  pass  an  opinion  on 
such  matters ;  that  is  for  you  men  to  decide."  And  after  the 
conclusion  of  a  diplomatic  explanation,  they  generally  agree 
with  their  new  inquisitive  friend,  and  simultaneously  with  a 
nudge  or  two,  whisper,  "Of  course,  this  is  confidential  between 
you  and  me."  And  by  playing  this  game  they  generally  land 
their  subjects.  But  the  criminal  portion  of  it  is  that  in  the 
next  crowd,  or  cross-road,  they  meet  someone  else  that  they 
confidentially  agree  with,  even  though  such  agreement  is  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  the  agreement  arrived  at  with  their 
previous  friend. 

Indeed,  John  Robertson,  Stephen  Taylor  or  Ed  Merrill 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  309 

did  not  belong  to  this  tribe  of  nonessentials ;  they  were  men 
with  convictions  and  decisions,  with  ideals  and  sincerity  of 
purpose.  They  knew  their  positions,  and  could  always  be 
depended  on  to  defend  them  under  any  and  all  circumstances. 
During  the  frequent  and  stormy  developments  of  the  strikes 
they  always  stood  the  test  of  the  real  pioneers  in  the  common 
cause. 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  ON  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN 

We  have  now  arrived  at  a  period  of  the  strike  where  we 
have  forced  the  machine  to  show  their  hand  at  frequent  inter- 
vals, and  there  was  only  one  thing  that  we  had  to  drive  them 
in  a  corner  with — that  was  the  Strike  Bulletin.  Every  time 
the  issue  of  the  strike  came  up,  and  a  question  was  to  be 
decided  among  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  in  the  executive  cham- 
bers of  the  Railway  Department,  some  one  of  them  would 
always  put  the  question,  "What  will  the  Strike  Bulletin  say?" 
The  Strike  Bulletin  seemed  to  be  feared  more  than  anything 
else.  This  little  sheet,  that  was  started  on  a  shoestring,  and 
that  they  had  plastered  injunctions  against  in  every  lodge 
room  in  the  country,  prohibiting  the  "worthy  brothers"  from 
reading  it,  and  some  of  the  brothers,  of  course,  feared  it  like  a 
colored  Baptist  preacher  fears  one  of  Robert  Ingersoll's  books. 
But  after  it  had  weathered  their  abuse  and  persecution,  it  gained 
enough  respect  to  warrant  Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  the  highest 
Judge  in  the  Railroad  department,  to  call  it  in  and  request  that 
it  be  a  tame  little  sheet  for  that  period  at  least,  while  they  go 
on  exhibition  with  their  strike  vote  proposition.  Later  on  Mr. 
Johnston  admitted  that  it  was  so  pernicious,  while  they  were 
performing,  that  they  could  not  play  their  little  drama  as 
desired. 

But  there  was  still  another  act  for  them  to  play  before 
the  show  was  over.  Something  else  they  had  to  clean  up  before 
they  could  pull  down  the  curtains  on  their  "Lizard's  Trail," 


310  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

and  as  they  could  not  depend  on  the  Strike  Bulletin,  there  was 
only  one  thing  for  them  to  do.  One  thing  that  they  had  to 
do  to  accomplish  their  end,  and  that  was  to  "murder"  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  being  too  cowardly  to  drive  into  the  rebel  nest 
with  a  "gas  pipe"  in  the  good  old-fashioned  way.  Modern 
and  scientific  methods  had  to  be  employed. 

After  we  licked  them  on  the  strike  vote  proposition,  they 
realized  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  had  to  be  removed  at  any 
cost,  and  they  started  out  with  this  purpose  in  view.  Every 
little  barking  angel  that  would  serve  their  church  was  pressed 
into  service,  and  they  performed  well.  Should  the  Strike  Bul- 
letin be  mentioned  in  any  lodge  room,  there  instantly  developed 
a  riot  for  possession  of  the  floor,  among  peanut-shaped  indi- 
viduals and  powdered  scissorbills  who  came  with  lard  laid  on 
their  hair.  They  all  knew  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  was  clean- 
ing up  a  million  a  year  for  its  self-appointed  leaders;  there 
was  no  question  about  that.  The  Federation  was  as  illegiti- 
mate with  them  as  it  was  with  Mr.  C.  H.  Markham  and  Julius 
Kruttschnitt  in  1911.  "Therefore,  and  whereas,  that  the 
Strike  Bulletin  was  not  endorsed  by  our  beloved  and  honor- 
able chief  of  our  dear  order  of  seven  eyes  and  nine  T's"  (barks 
a  suffering  sister),  "be  it  resolved  that  you,  my  dear,  dear 
brothers,  refrain  from  reading  this  aforementioned  Strike 
Bulletin  and  as  a  substitute  read  carefully  that  which  is  pre- 
pared for  you  in  our  own  beloved  journal."  (Motion  carried, 
with  prolonged  applause.) 

Between  December  1,  1914,  and  March  24,  1915,  they 
had  been  successful  in  building  a  good  organization  of  will- 
ing workers  to  stand  on  guard  and  see  that  the  Strike  Bulletin 
would  not  get  any  support.  The  investigation  of  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  by  the  Industrial  Commission 
had  been  set  for  April  7,  1915.  We  were  making  an  effort 
to  give  this  investigation  as  much  publicity  as  possible,  and 
were  arranging  to  put  out  a  special  edition  of  the  Strike  Bulle- 
tin. The  special  edition  was  advertised  in  the  weekly  editions 
and  when  the  "dips"  saw  what  our  intentions  were  they  raved 


311 

like  the  inmates  of  an  insane  asylum.  Here  some  time  before 
they  had  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  have  the  strike  called  off, 
before  this  investigation  came  up,  and  now  the  date  for  the 
investigation  was  set.  And  the  Strike  Bulletin  still  in  exist- 
ence, as  well  as  making  special  preparations  to  give  what  was 
of  interest  to  the  strikers  a  wide  range  of  publicity. 

The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  held  a  meeting  in  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  on  March  24,  1915.  Attorney  Frank  Comerford  of  Chi- 
cago was  called  down  to  this  meeting.  (Reference  Minutes 
Executive  Council  Railway  Department,  March  24-27,  1915, 
see  page  7.)  Mr.  Wharton  introduced  a  letter  that  was  sent 
and  signed  by.  I.  J.  Cundiff,  secretary  of  the  local  federation 
of  Chicago.  This  letter  was  calling  the  Railway  Department's 
attention  to  some  of  its  shortcomings,  and  therefore  did  not 
meet  with  their  approval.  Attorney  Comerford  was  charged 
with  writing  the  letter  for  Cundiff.  Comerford  plead  his  own 
case  before  this  supreme  court. 

The  next  case  on  the  docket  was  also  against  Attorney 
Comerford.  But  this  time  he  was  called  on  to  defend  the  good 
name  of  the  Strike  Bulletin.  Defending  the  Strike  Bulletin 
in  the  chambers  of  the  Executive  Council  was  about  as  difficult 
as  to  try  and  defend  the  rights  of  the  high  cost  of  living  in  an 
east  side  bread  riot  of  New  York. 

The  trial  proceeded  something  like  this : 

Wharton:  I  see  you  are  going  to  capitalize  the  coming 
investigation  of  the  Industrial  Commission  by  sending  out  a 
special  edition  of  the  Bulletin. 

Comerford :  Yes,  Person  spoke  to  me  about  that  and  re- 
quested that  he  would  be  furnished  with  copy  of  proceedings 
for  the  Bulletin. 

Wharton :    Are  you  going  to  let  Person  have  this  ? 

Comerford :  It  is  my  intention  to  have  a  stenographer  take 
all  the  notes  from  the  time  the  hearings  are  started  until 
finished. 

Wharton :  And  you  are  going  to  let  Person  have  the  notes 
for  the  Bulletin,  are  you  ? 


312  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Comerford:  I  believe  that  too  much  publicity  cannot  be 
given  to  the  case. 

Wharton :  Don't  you  think  that  you  should  take  this  mat- 
ter up  with  the  council  first? 

Comerford:  I  do  not  consider  that  it  is  my  privilege  to 
do  so,  but  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  greater  publicity 
given  to  the  strikers'  side  of  the  controversy,  that  better  and 
greater  results  would  follow. 

We  can  here  understand  that  the  special  publicity  we  had 
arranged  to  give  to  the  investigation  was  not  at  all  welcome 
by  the  cabinet  members.  They  felt  that  Attorney  Comerford 
should  consult  them  before  he  had  agreed  to  give  any  notes 
of  a  public  United  States  hearing  to  the  Strike  Bulletin. 

Another  paragraph  of  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  on 
page  7  also  states :  "The  attitude  of  Carl  E.  Person  and  the 
articles  published  in  the  Strike  Bulletin  also  came  up  for  a 
lengthy  discussion."  As  I  have  said  before,  the  Strike  Bulletin 
was  the  paramount  issue  at  all  of  their  meetings.  If  this  poor 
sheet  had  not  been  in  existence  they  would  have  had  no  reason 
to  ever  call  a  meeting  of  their  executive  boards.  The  whip- 
ping the  strikers  and  union  men  in  general  gave  them  through 
the  Strike  Bulletin  in  November,  1914,  when  they  tried  to 
declare  the  strike  off,  was  buried  deep  into  their  hides,  and 
because  I  would  not  agree  to  sit  idly  by  like  a  good  tame  little 
boy  when  Wharton  called  me  to  St.  Louis  and  asked  me  to  do 
so,  while  they  slipped  it  over  on  my  best  friends,  the  boys  on 
the  line,  I,  of  course,  had  to  meet  the  consequences  that  they 
could  manufacture,  and  hang  onto  my  door.  Therefore,  as 
the  minutes  state,  Carl  Person's  attitude  came  up  for  a  lengthy 
discussion.  These  discussions  would  wind  up  something  like 
this: 

Wharton,  standing  up  with  a  copy  of  the  Bulletin  on  ex- 
hibition, calling  attention  to  reports  from  Chicago,  Waterloo, 
Iowa ;  Oakland,  and  Portland,  shaking  one  fist  at  Brother  Ryan 
to  irritate  his  emotions  and  giving  Brother  Johnston  a  sar- 
castic look  to  cause  him  to  unfold  his  arms,  as  he  continued: 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  313 

Now  here,  my  honorable  colleagues,  this  man  Person  is 
nothing  but  an  ingrate,  an  ingrate  of  the  worst  type ;  to  allow 
this  irresponsible  crowd  of  Frisco,  Oakland,  Portland  and  Chi- 
cago to  print  such  malicious  statements.  I  say,  brothers, 
statements  that  infringe  upon  the  sincerity,  integrity,  effi- 
ciency and  ability  of  you  men  here,  my  dear  brothers.  (He  has 
now  wakened  them  all  up.)  I  now  wish  to  call  your  attention 
to  the  next  page  of  this  miserable  sheet  run  by  the  ingrate  Carl 
Person.  Here,  here,  I  say,  look  here  upon  this  page  in  a  double 
column  space  he  has  set  up  the  clamor  of  the  wild  ones  from 
Danville,  111.,  that  irresponsible  crowd  of  "Reds"  that  have 
done  nothing  for  the  home  office,  but  sent  their  money  to  the 
Federation,  I  say  here  and  now,  if  it  wouldn't  have  been  for 
the  wild  ones  in  Danville,  this  sheet  would  have  been  dead  a 
long  time  ago,  for,  my  dear  brothers,  it  was  those  machinists 
in  Danville  that  sent  Person  their  money,  so  he  could  keep  the 
nasty  thing  alive."  (Johnston  stands  up  and  says  amen.) 
"Yes,  I  say,  my  dear  brothers,  this  ingrate  at  Clinton  is  the 
most  dangerous  man  we  have  to  contend  with."  (Ryan  in- 
trudes and  says,  "Why  in  h — 1  didn't  we  let  them  hang  him  ?" 
Applause  and  prolonged  applause. 

"And  here  again,  as  you  see,  my  dear  brothers,  on  column 
4  he  allows  the  irresponsibles  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  to  state 
that  they  want  to  continue  this  strike  that  has  cost  you  men 
a  million  dollars  that  you  had  to  go  down  in  your  own  pockets 
for  and  besides  borrow  from  the  widows  and  children"  ( Johns- 
ton in  laughter)  "and,  my  dear  brothers,  here  from  Hemp- 
stead,  Texas,  is  a  cry  for  a  general  strike,  and  as  you  all 
know,  when  I  won  the  Missouri  Pacific  I  didn't  ask  anyone  to 
assist  me  there.  I  say  /  fought  and  won  that  fight  alone" 
(Protest  by  Franklin  and  Kline.  Ryan  remains  neutral.) 
"Then  here,  as  you  see,  in  column  3  is  the  wail  of  Stephen 
Taylor  and  that  man  Merrill.  They  are  both  as  crazy  as 
John  Robertson  from  Oakland,  and  they  accuse  you,  you  and 
Brother  Ryan  with  getting  rich  and  building  up  your  treas- 
uries in  this  strike."  (Johnston  jumps  to  the  floor  and  hollers, 


314  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

"That's  right,  by  God!  That's  right!  Ryan  and  some  of 
you  have  got  rich.")  Wharton  takes  a  drink  of  water,  while 
Brother  Scott  admonishes  Johnston  for  violating  Robert's 
rules  of  procedure. 

Wharton  continues,  "And  I  say  to  you  here  and  now,  this 
here  ingrate  Person  is  getting  rich  by  publishing  these  stories 
of  the  irresponsibles.  Then  look  upon  page  4,  my  brothers, 
in  an  advertisement  as  well  put  up  as  the  posters  of  Quaker 
Oats,  he  tries  to  boycott  the  railroads  and  asks  the  public  to 
keep  off  the  Southern  Pacific  when  they  go  to  the  Frisco  fair, 
and  as  you  know,  my  dear  brothers,  the  scabs  on  this  road  are 
now  competent  mechanics  and  good  and  ripe  for  membership 
in  our  associations  (prolonged  applause)  and  as  I  say,  this  is 
shameful."  (Interrupted  by  Brother  Ryan.  "I  ask  the  chair 
for  permission  to  speak  on  this  subject.")  Wharton: 
"Brothers,  I  rest  upon  the  application  of  my  colleague,  Ryan 
of  the  Carmen."  (Prolonged  applause.) 

Mr.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen:  I  resent  the  attitude  here  by 
the  gentleman  from  Washington,  Brother  Johnston,  as  he  al- 
luded to  the  wealth  of  my  Brotherhood.  The  Brotherhood's 
business  is  strictly  a  craft  proposition  and  should  not  interest 
the  council  members  here. 

Johnston:  Say,  Ryan,  you  didn't  pay  no  strike  benefits, 
did  you  ? 

The  Chair:  Both  you  gentlemen  are  out  of  order.  The 
subject  under  discussion  is  the  ingrate  from  Clinton  and  his 
miserable  sheet. 

Franklin :  That's  right ;  let  us  settle  the  question  of  the 
ingrate  first. 

Chair:  Proceed,  Mr.  Ryan,  on  the  subject  before  the 
council. 

Ryan:  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  gentlemen  of  this  noble 
council,  that  this  Strike  Bulletin  must  be  dealt  with  and  dealt 
with  harshly ;  if  it  is  allowed  to  live  and  live  a  little  longer,  I 
say  to  you,  my  dear  brothers,  that  it  will  be  more  popular  than 
even  I,  I  who  am  the  President  of  the  B.  of  R.  C.  M.  I,  who 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  315 

stood  and  won  the  applause  of  the  machinist  convention  in 
1911,  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  made  that  famous  speech  that 
caused  you,  Brother  Johnston,  to  declare  your  willingness 
that  the  machinists  go  on  strike.  I  am  so  profoundly  satisfied 
that  if  this  sheet  is  allowed  to  live,  it  shall  be  able  to  some  day 
have  more  power  and  popularity  than  I  had  in  my  palmiest 
days  of  1911,  when  I  stood  on  the  platform  and  threatened 
to  stop  the  wheels  of  progress  by  calling  my  men  on  strike. 
And  I  tell  you,  my  beloved  brothers,  that  I  can  see  the  hand- 
writing on  the  horizon,  for  if  it  hadn't  been  for  this  miserable 
sheet  in  November,  1914,  we  would  have  had  the  strike  called 
off,  and  I  would  now  be  collecting  a  tax  on  those  splendid  boys 
that  Pat  Richardson  will  organize.  If  I  cannot  break  down 
the  barriers  and  go  in  and  take  them.  (Applause,  prolonged 
applause. ) 

Franklin :  I  think  that  when  Brother  Ryan  gives  mention 
to  the  time  when  we  soft-soaped  Brother  Johnston  and  the 
machinists  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  I  should  be  given  some  credit. 

Ryan:  I  make  an  apology  to  Brother  Franklin,  but  I 
think  he  will  concede  that  I  made  the  speech  that  took  down 
the  house. 

Johnston  stands  up  in  laughter:  In  justice  to  Brother 
Ryan  I  can  testify  that  due  to  the  personality  of  Brother  Ryan 
and  dressed  as  he  was  in  his  frock  coat,  he  won  the  admiration 
of  our  boys. 

Wharton  and  Scott  exchanging  smiles. 

Heberling:  Is  that  the  time  you  gave  the  boys  the  "ill- 
advice,  "  Ryan  ? 

Wharton  in  enthusiastic  applause. 

Bray :  Better  not  let  the  Strike  Bulletin  know  Ryan  was 
wronging  them  in  1911  and  ill-advised  the  boys. 

Kline  in  continued  laughter. 

Wharton:  No,  we  must  keep  the  council's  business  to 
ourselves. 

Johnston:  Oh,  the  animals  have  forgotten  that  a  long 
time  ago. 


316  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

The  Chair:    Proceed,  Brother  Ryan. 

Ryan:  I  believe  my  friend  Johnston  is  right,  that's  all 
forgotten  now,  it  sure  would  inconvenience  me  to  have  to  admit 
that  I  sang  the  song  of  ill-advice  them  days.  I  think  that  my 
stand  to  declare  the  strike  off  now  is  good  advice,  for  you  know 
I  seen  Mr.  Bucker  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  he  said  that  we 
could  arrange  to  run  Pat  Richardson's  organization  off  the 
system,  and  that  would  be  a  grand  victory  for  the  Brotherhood. 

The  Chair:  I  must  call  Brother  Ryan's  attention  to  the 
subject  before  the  council,  which  is  the  ingrate  from  Clinton. 
(Applause.) 

Ryan :  Pulling  out  a  circular  letter  from  his  pocket,  yes, 
my  brothers,  I  have  here  for  your  close  attention  and  inspec- 
tion an  exhibit  that  has  come  from  Clinton,  111.,  the  home  of 
the  ingrate.  He  has  again  sent  this  letter  to  the  locals  of  my 
Brotherhood  and  asking  them  for  subscriptions  to  that  nasty 
sheet,  just  as  he  has  on  other  occasions,  without  my  permis- 
sion, sanction  or  authority.  Yes,  my  brothers,  he  tries  to  get 
money  to  tell  people  that  there  is  still  a  strike  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines,  and  we,  my  dear  brothers, 
know  that  there  is  not.  (The  audience  in  close  attention.) 
And  this  letter  is  signed  by  this  man  Frank  Comerford  of 
Chicago. 

Wharton  jumps  to  his  feet:  What,  Brother  Ryan,  signed 
by  Comerford.  Johnston,  my  good  God !  and  brothers,  what 
shall  we  do  ?  What  shall  we  do  ? 

Franklin:  Bring  Comerford  before  the  council.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

Johnston:     I  second  the  motion. 

The  Chair :  Ordered.  Secretary  Scott  to  serve  an  indict- 
ment on  Attorney  Comerford  and  bring  hither  before  the 
learned  members  of  the  council. 

Scott  appears  with  his  prisoner ;  profound  silence  prevails 
in  the  chambers. 

Wharton:  In  justice  to  my  honorable  position,  I  ask 
Mr.  Ryan  to  concede  me  my  place  as  chief  justice.  I  have 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  317 

the  profound  wish  to  exercise  same  in  cross-questioning  Attor- 
ney Comerf  ord. 

Ryan:  The  pleasure  is  hereby  conceded  to  the  chief 
justice. 

Wharton:  I  hold  in  my  hand  here  a  captured  piece  of 
evidence  that  is  purported  to  come  from  the  "rebel's  nest"  at 
Clinton,  and  it  is  signed  by  Frank  Comerford.  Are  you,  Mr. 
Comerford,  its  legal  author  and  is  the  name  herewith  your 
signature  ? 

Attorney  Comerford,  amused  at  the  procedure,  answered 
that  is  my  name  signed  thereto,  but  I  did  not  sign  it. 

Johnston :    Then  your  name  to  that  letter  is  a  forgery  ? 

Attorney  Comerford:  No;  Person  can  use  my  name  in 
anything  he  thinks  will  be  of  assistance  to  the  boys  on  strike 
and  the  welfare  of  the  Strike  Bulletin. 

Wharton:  Yes,  but  if  you  did  not  sign  this  letter  per- 
sonally, it  is  a  forgery.  (Prolonged  applause.) 

Attorney  Comerford:  There  were  possibly  eight  or  ten 
thousand  of  such  circulars  sent  out.  I  have  not  the  time  to  sit 
down  and  sign  such  a  volume  of  letters.  When  a  large  amount 
of  letters  like  this  are  sent  out  by  anyone,  whether  it  is  a  mail 
order  house  or  a  newspaper,  the  clerks  and  office  help  sign  the 
names  and  signatures,  and  I  assume  that  Person  has  the  same 
system  up  there  in  Clinton. 

Johnston:  No,  siree!  Any  signature  that  is  not  signed 
personally  is  a  forgery. 

Ryan :  You  are  right,  Brother  Johnston ;  don't  you  think 
so,  Franklin? 

Franklin :  Sure,  any  time  my  name  is  signed  by  someone 
else,  that  party  forges  my  name. 

Scott  still  wide  awake. 

Heberling,  Bray  and  Kline  discussing  the  progress  of  the 
labor  movement. 

Attorney  Comerford  reading  the  letter. 

Wharton :    My  dear  brothers,  at  last,  at  last,  I  am  sure  we 


318  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

have  the  goods  on  the  ingrate  Person  from  Clinton.  (Ap- 
plause. ) 

Ryan :  Oh,  I  am  so  happy.  I  think  that  this  is  the  only 
letter  in  captivity. 

Franklin:  You're  some  sleuth,  Brother  Ryan,  and  must 
have  some  organization  to  be  able  to  catch  such  big  game  as 
this. 

Ryan :  Oh,  thank  you,  thank  you,  Franklin.  You  know 
I  have  been  right  on  the  job  since  the  Strike  Bulletin  drove  us 
in  the  hole  in  November  on  our  strike  proposition. 

Attorney  Comerf ord :  May  I  have  permission  to  read  the 
letter  to  the  council.  (The  house  in  silence.) 

Kline:  I  make  a  motion  that  Attorney  Comerf  ord  read 
the  letter. 

Bray :    I  second  the  motion. 

The  Chair :    So  ordered,  Mr.  Comerf  ord. 

Attorney  Comerf  ord,  reading  the  letter : 

FEDERATION  OF  RAILWAY  EMPLOYEES  Now  OK  STRIKE  ON  THE  ILLINOIS 
CENTRAL  AND  HARRIMAN  LINES 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  February  26,  1916. 

Dear  Friend:  We  wrote  to  you  some  time  ago  and  asked  you  to 
subscribe  for  a  bundle  of  Strike  Bulletins.  As  yet  we  have  not  heard 
from  you.  It  is  up  to  the  labor  movement  to  keep  the  public  off  the 
struck  roads  during  the  Frisco  Fair,  and  in  doing  this  we  need  your 
assistance  to  carry  on  a  campaign  of  publicity  against  the  roads  on 
strike. 

We  asked  your  lodge  to  purchase  a  bundle  of  ten  Strike  Bulletins 
for  one  year,  which  will  be  ten  dollars.  If  you  cannot  do  this,  please 
give  us  an  order  for  five  papers  for  one  year,  which  will  be  five  dollars. 
Make  it  possible  for  us  to  advertise  the  strike  in  your  city.  Won't  you? 

Please  take  this  matter  up  at  your  next  meeting  and  let  us  hear 
from  you.  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

F.    D.     COMEHFORD, 

Attorney  for  the  Men  on  Strike. 

Make  all  money  orders  and  checks  payable  to  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike 
Secretary. 

That  letter  seems  to  be  all  right.  Person  is  only  using  my 
name  in  an  effort  to  advertise  the  strike  more  successfully  and 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  319 

he  is  welcome  to  use  it,  as  long  as  he  uses  it  for  the  good  cause 
of  the  strike.  I  can  see  nothing  wrong  with  this. 

Ryan:  That  letter  is  a  forgery  (the  house  in  excitement). 
It  is  a  forgery  because  Comerford  didn't  sign  his  name  to  it; 
that  was  done  by  Person  or  others,  and  we  never  endorsed  the 
Strike  Bulletin  anyway. 

Franklin :    That's  right,  Brother  Ryan.    Forgery  is  good. 

Wharton :  I  make  a  motion  that  we  notify  all  locals  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  this  council  that  Carl  Person  has  committed 
forgery.  What  do  you  say,  my  dear,  dear  brothers?  (Ap- 
plause and  prolonged  applause.) 

Attorney  Comerford :  Carl  Person  has  done  nothing,  only 
made  an  earnest  effort  to  advertise  the  strike  and  thought  that 
my  name  in  the  circular  would  bring  the  Strike  Bulletin  better 
results  than  his  own  signature  or  the  signature  of  others  con- 
nected with  him. 

Johnston:  This  is  our  only  opportunity  to  go  after  the 
ingrate,  regardless  of  the  intent  of  the  circular.  We'll  call  it 
forgery  and  that  will  put  a  scare  into  the  "brothers"  and  cut 
off  the  subscription  list. 

Wharton :     I  have  a  motion  before  the  council. 

Ryan :    Second  the  motion.    (The  house  in  cheers.) 

Attorney  Comerford  leaves  the  council  chambers  in  dis- 
gust. 

Johnston:  Now  for  a  call  to  arms,  brothers.  If  we  can 
successfully  show  this  ingrate  up  as  a  forger,  we  can  kill  the 
Strike  Bulletin  and  then  declare  off  the  strike.  I  want  to  sug- 
gest to  Secretary  Scott  that  when  he  sends  this  notice  out  to 
the  locals  to  remind  them  that  the  injunction  that  we  put  on 
that  miserable  sheet  in  1913  has  never  been  taken  off,  and  it 
would  be  a  good  idea  to  renew  this  injunction  by  putting  an- 
other one  on.  (  Applause. ) 

Franklin:  Brother  Scott,  don't  forget  to  mention  that 
the  Bulletin  is  not  authorized  by  the  council.  I  think  this 
word  "authorized"  should  be  used,  for  that  sure  gets  the 
brothers. 


320  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Wharton:  Don't  worry,  brothers,  we'll  put  on  the  skull 
and  crossbone  sign  and  spread  your  signature  on  profusely. 

Kline:  If  you  can  now  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin  and  then 
declare  the  strike  off,  what's  Brother  Johnston  going  to  do 
with  his  friend  on  the  "Short  Line"? 

Johnston :  That's  simply  a  matter  that  concerns  our  asso- 
ciation and  should  not  be  taken  up  in  the  council.  You  can 
leave  that  to  myself  and  Brother  Nicholson.  We'll  bury  the 
hatchet. 

Ryan :  I  think  this  will  put  a  damper  on  capitalizing  the 
hearings  before  the  commission  and  teach  Comerford  a  lesson 
that  he  has  to  consult  us  before  a  publicity  campaign  is  started. 

The  meeting  adjourned  in  roars  of  prolonged  applause. 

Of  course,  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  didn't  care  who  signed 
the  circular  letters  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the  Strike  Bulle- 
tin, but  anyone  that  did  anything  for  it,  in  circular  letters  or 
otherwise,  was  an  outlaw,  of  course.  Now  they  were  going 
to  manufacture  a  case  of  forgery  against  me  for  advertising 
the  strike  and  asking  people  to  keep  off  the  struck  roads  on 
their  way  to  the  Frisco  Fair.  If  anyone  had  a  complaint  to 
make,  then  this  was  Attorney  Comerford.  Where  and  why 
should  the  Railway  Department  complain?  Their  names  had 
not  been  used  and,  of  course,  I  was  fully  aware  of  the  fact 
that  had  I  taken  the  liberty  to  use  their  names  I  would  have 
injured  the  cause  of  the  strike. 

The  injunction  as  served  against  the  Strike  Bulletin  and 
as  published  in  the  Strike  Bulletin  in  volume  3,  No.  15,  Wednes- 
day, April  14,  1915,  reads  as  follows,  with  my  comments  as 
also  published  in  the  same  issue  of  the  Bulletin: 

A  STAB  IN  THE  BACK 

To  ALL  OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS — GREETING: 

We  herewith  submit  a  facsimile  copy  of  a  circular  (the  original 
of  which  we  have  in  our  possession),  being  one  of  several  of  a  similar 
character  that  have  been  sent  broadcast  by  or  through  the  instrumental- 
ity of  Carl  E.  Person: 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  321 

FEDERATION  OF  RAILWAY  EMPLOYEES  Now  ON  STRIKE  ON  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL 

SYSTEM 

Strike  Headquarters,  117  South  Monroe,  Rooms  2  and  3,  Clinton,  111. 
Carl  E.  Person,  Strike  Secretary,  P.  O.  Box  D. 

CLINTON,  ILL.,  February  26,  1915. 

Dear  Friend:  We  wrote  you  some  time  ago  and  asked  you  to  sub- 
scribe for  a  bundle  of  Strike  Bulletins.  As  yet  we  have  not  heard 
from  you. 

It  is  up  to  the  labor  movement  to  keep  the  public  off  the  struck 
roads  during  the  Frisco  Fair  and  in  doing  this  we  need  your  assistance 
to  carry  on  a  campaign  of  publicity  against  the  roads  on  strike. 

We  asked  your  lodge  to  purchase  a  bundle  of  ten  Strike  Bulletins  for 
one  year,  which  will  be  ten  dollars.  If  you  cannot  do  this,  please  give 
us  an  order  for  five  papers  for  one  year,  which  will  be  five  dollars. 
Make  it  possible  for  us  to  advertise  the  strike  in  your  city.  Won't  you? 

Please  take  this  matter  up  at  your  next  meeting  and  let  us  hear 
from  you.  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

F.    D.    COMERFORD, 

Attorney  for  the  Men  on  Strike. 

Make  all  money  orders  and  checks  payable  to  Carl  E.  Person,  Strike 
Secretary. 

On  March  25,  1915,  Mr.  Frank  Comerford  appeared  before  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  connection  with  the  strike  hearings 
to  be  held  by  the  commission  on  Industrial  Relations.  He  was  shown 
the  letter  and  declared  the  signature  attached  thereto  as  a  forgery  and 
that  it  was  used  without  his  knowledge  or  consent.  Mr.  Comerford  was 
asked  if  he  had  ever  issued  or  caused  to  be  issued  other  similar  circulars 
bearing  his  signature.  His  answer  was  "Never." 

This  letter  bears  the  official  seal  of  the  Illinois  Central  System  Fed- 
eration, and  while  gotten  out  in  Clinton,  111.,  was  enclosed  in  an  envelope 
bearing  the  Chicago,  111.,  postmark,  showing  that  they  had  been  trans- 
ported to  Chicago  and  mailed  from  the  West  Pullman  Station. 

The  Strike  Bulletin  is  not  endorsed  by  the  department  or  any  of 
the  affiliated  organizations,  and  the  purpose  of  this  circular  is  to  acquaint 
you  with  this  fact,  together  with  the  methods  adopted  by  C.  E.  Person 
in  an  effort  to  secure  financial  support. 

Issued  by  the  authority  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railway 
Employes'  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L. 

A.  O.  WHARTON,  President. 
JOHN  SCOTT,  Secretary-Treasurer. 

Please  read  the  above  carefully.  It  is  a  reprint  of  a  circular  sent 
out  by  the  department,  and  in  it  you  will  notice  a  letter  sent  out  by  me, 
to  which  I  signed  the  name  of  our  attorney,  Frank  Comerford. 

I  ask  you  to  read  carefully  the  comment  of  the  department  and  then 
ask  yourself  why  the  department  sent  out  this  circular. 

I  signed  Mr.  Comerford's  name  to  the  letter  I  sent  out  asking  for 
aid  to  keep  the  Strike  Bulletin  alive,  believing  that  his  name  would  get 
better  results  than  my  own,  and  knowing  that  Mr.  Comerford  wanted 


322  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  Strike  Bulletin  kept  alive  as  a  publicity  weapon  to  fight  the  cause 
of  the  men  on  the  firing  line. 

As  you  read  the  letter  I  sent  out,  which  is  now  criticized  by  the 
department,  you  will  notice  that  my  single  and  only  purpose  was  to 
keep  the  Strike  Bulletin  on  the  job  and  continue  the  fight  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  Was  not,  and  is  not,  this  the  right  thing 
to  do?  I  am  willing  to  admit  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  I  will 
do  anything  to  keep  up  the  fight  and  to  that  end  I  will  try  to  keep  in 
the  field  one  unmuzzled  newspaper  that  will  speak  out  in  behalf  of  the 
crowd  known  as  the  rank  and  file. 

Why  did  the  department  issue  this  circular?    I  will  tell  you. 

Because  I  refused  to  keep  the  Strike  Bulletin  silent  when  the  idle, 
high-salaried  Grand  Lodge  officers  tried  to  call  off  the  strike  and  by  so 
doing  put  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  on  the  fair  list,  make 
scabs  of  the  thirty-five  thousand  men  who  have  so  gallantly  fought  for 
unionism,  and  make  heroes  out  of  the  scabs  in  the  bull  pens.  Mr. 
Wharton  sent  for  me  to  come  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  there  he  told  me 
that  the  department  wanted  the  Strike  Bulletin  to  lay  off  from  attack- 
ing the  Grand  Lodge  officers  for  sending  out  a  vote  to  call  off  the  strike. 
I  refused  to  be  a  traitor  to  the  rank  and  file  then,  and  I  have  not  changed 
my  mind  since. 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  had  an  idea  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  be- 
longed to  them.  I  was  publishing  the  Strike  Bulletin  for  ALL  of  the 
men  on  strike,  and  have  always  thought  that  the  columns  of  our  paper 
belong  as  much  to  the  man  who  wears  overalls  as  to  the  man  who  lives 
off  of  him.  The  Strike  Bulletin  may  be  compelled  to  suspend  because 
of  a  lack  of  money  to  pay  the  printer,  but  it  will  never  cease  to  be  the 
paper  of  the  rank  and  file  as  long  as  I  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 

The  department  is  guilty  of  at  least  one  deliberate  lie  in  its  attempt 
to  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin.  In  the  second  paragraph  of  the  department's 
circular  you  will  notice  the  following  words: 

"This  letter  bears  the  official  seal  of  the  Illinois  Central  System 
Federation,  and  while  gotten  out  in  Clinton,  111.,  was  enclosed  in  an 
envelope  bearing  the  Chicago,  111.,  postmark,"  etc. 

If  your  lodge  received  a  letter  to  which  I  signed  the  name  of  Attor- 
ney Comerford,  by  examining  the  envelope  you  will  find  it  is  postmarked 
Clinton,  111.,  and  you  will  thus  have  positive  proof  that  the  department 
lied  in  an  effort  to  make  it  appear  that  I  sent  the  letters  to  Chicago  to 
have  them  mailed.  I  do  not  know  why  they  told  this  silly  lie  any  more 
than  I  know  why  they  sent  out  the  cowardly  circular. 

Now  please  read  paragraph  three  of  their  circular  and  you  will 
have  the  real  reason  for  the  attack  upon  me.  It  reads: 

"THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  IS  NOT  ENDORSED  BY  THE 
DEPARTMENT  OR  ANY  OF  THE  AFFILIATED  ORGANIZA- 
TIONS, AND  THE  PURPOSE  OF  THIS  CIRCULAR  IS  TO  AC- 
QUAINT YOU  WITH  THIS  FACT,  TOGETHER  WITH  THE 
METHODS  ADOPTED  BY  C.  E.  PERSON  IN  AN  EFFORT  TO 
SECURE  FINANCIAL  SUPPORT." 

Why  does  the  department  take  pains  to  advise  the  labor  movement 
that  the  Strike  Bulletin  is  not  endorsed  by  it?  The  Strike  Bulletin  is 
the  paper  of  the  men  on  strike  and  has  fought  for  the  cause.  Isn't  this 
a  hint  to  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin  because  it  has  chosen  to  fight  for  all 
of  the  men  rather  than  do  the  bidding  of  those  whose  salaries  went  on 
while  we  suffered  in  the  trenches? 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  323 

But  you  will  note  they  say  this  letter  was  sent  out  by  me  to  secure 
financial  support.  Yes,  to  secure  financial  support  to  maintain  the  Strike 
Bulletin — not  to  maintain  Carl  E.  Person.  I  have  never  expected  nor 
wanted  pay  for  serving  the  cause.  No  one  knows  this  fact  better  than 
the  Grand  Lodge  officers.  I  am  not  in  the  labor  movement  for  what  I 
can  get  out  of  it.  The  little  money  I  had  saved  up  at  the  time  of  the 
strike  I  have  put  into  the  fight  and  I  have  done  it  cheerfully.  The 
only  reason  I  have  urged  support  for  the  Strike  Bulletin  is  to  keep  up 
the  fight. 

The  only  thing  that  has  been  said  against  me  by  the  plug  hat  gentle- 
men of  the  department  is  that  in  my  eagerness  to  continue  the  fight  I 
sent  out  a  letter  and  signed  Comerford's  name  to  it,  for  the  worthy 
purpose  of  getting  subscriptions  to  the  Strike  Bulletin,  so  that  we  would 
not  be  forced  to  shut  down  and  give  up  the  ghost.  I  would  have  ex- 
pected such  a  stab  in  the  back  from  the  Illinois  Central,  but  coming 
as  it  does  from  the  aristocrats  in  the  Railway  Employees'  Department, 
I  blush  with  shame  for  them. 

If  Mr.  Comerford  had  not  been  confined  to  his  bed  with  a  broken 
leg  at  the  time  I  would  have  asked  him  to  sign  the  letter,  and  I  am 
sure  that  he  would  have  done  it  gladly.  Because  of  his  condition  I  did 
not  want  to  bother  him,  and  knowing  his  desire  that  the  Strike  Bulletin 
be  kept  alive,  at  least  until  the  Industrial  Commission  should  have  heard 
our  case,  I  went  ahead  and  signed  Mr.  Comerford's  name.  As  long  as 
Mr.  Comerford  does  not  object,  why  should  Wharton,  Johnston  and  their 
associates  in  the  Railway  Employees'  Department? 

April  14,  1915.  CAHL  PERSON. 

In  volume  3,  No.  16,  of  the  Strike  Bulletin  I  made  the 
following  statement,  which  will  give  us  further  light  on  the 
situation : 

FHOM  COMERFORD 

We  quote  herewith  Mr.  Comerford's  statement  with  respect  to  the 
circular  letter  sent  out  by  A.  O.  Wharton  of  the  Railways  Employees' 
Department  and  the  circular  letter  sent  out  by  William  H.  Johnston, 
President  of  the  Machinists,  the  gentlemen  who  have  set  out  to  kill  the 
Strike  Bulletin  on  the  grounds  that  Mr.  Comerford's  name  had  been 
used  on  circulars  sent  out  by  Carl  Person: 

CHICAGO,  April  15,  1915. 
MR.  CARL  PERSON, 

Editor  Strike  Bulletin, 
Clinton,  111. 

My  Dear  Person:  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  large  number  of  letters 
asking  information  concerning  a  letter  issued  by  you  on  February  26, 
1915,  to  which  my  name  was  signed. 

Tomorrow  I  enter  Mercy  Hospital  to  undergo  an  operation  which 
will  keep  me  in  the  hospital  for  about  ten  weeks  and  as  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  make  a  statement  in  justice  to  all  concerned,  I  therefore  send  you 
a  copy  of  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  Stephen  Taylor,  secretary  of  Rose 
City  Local,  System  Federation,  Harriman  Lines,  Portland,  Ore.,  and 
my  answer  thereto. 


324  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  ask  my  other  correspondents  to  consider  this  statement  as  an 
answer  to  their  letters.  It  contains  the  facts  as  I  know  them.  With 
best  wishes, 

Sincerely, 

FRANK  COMERFORD. 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  April  5,  1915. 
MR.  FRANK  COMERFORD, 

905  Ashland  Block, 
Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  letter  signed  by  A.  O. 
Wharton,  President  of  Railway  Employees'  Department,  also  signed  by 
John  Scott.  Above  the  letter  is  a  facsimile  of  one  coming  from  the 
System  Federation  of  the  Illinois  Central  dated  February  26,  1915,  with 
your  signature  attached  thereto.  It  is  alleged  that  such  signature  is  a 
forgery,  you  having  so  stated  at  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council 
of  the  Railway  Employees'  Department,  held  March  25,  1915,  and  that 
you  have  never  given  any  sanction  to  have  letters  come  out  over  you 
signature. 

The  members  of  Rose  City  Local  would  like  to  know  if  you  consider 
such  a  signature  a  forgery  in  intent  and  whether  the  motive  in  using 
same  was  ulterior  or  whether  you  endorse  the  obvious  intent  of  the 
Railways  Employees'  Department  to  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin  and  probably 
take  away  Carl  Person's  card.  The  members  of  Rose  City  Local  would 
like  to  have  your  personal  opinion,  as  you  are  the  party  concerned,  and 
as  we  wish  to  be  in  a  position  to  act  intelligently  by  knowing  all  of  the 
facts.  With  best  wishes,  I  remain, 

Fraternally  yours, 

STEPHEN  TAYLOR, 

Secretary  Rose  City  Local,  System  Federation,  Harriman  Lines. 
209  Alisky  Bldg.,  Portland,  Ore. 

CHICAGO,  April  15,  1915. 
MR.  STEPHEN  TAYLOR, 

Secretary  Rose  City  Local, 

System  Federation,  Harriman  Lines. 

My  Dear  Taylor:  Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  5th  inst.,  I  submit 
the  following  statement  as  my  knowledge  of  the  matter  concerning 
which  you  make  inquiry.  On  February  26,  1915,  Carl  E.  Person  sent 
out  a  letter  asking  subscriptions  to  the  Strike  Bulletin,  to  which  he 
signed  my  name  without  my  consent.  At  the  time  the  letter  was  sent 
out  I  was  in  a  critical  condition  and  was  confined  to  my  bed  with  a 
broken  leg. 

While  Person  used  my  name  without  consulting  me,  it  was  not  for 
his  own  gain.  THE  OBJECT  FOR  WHICH  HE  USED  IT  WAS 
TO  KEEP  ALIVE  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN.  I  CONSIDER 
THIS  A  WORTHY  OBJECT.  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  IS  A 
NECESSARY  WEAPON  AS  LONG  AS  THE  STRIKE  LASTS. 

Person's  explanation  to  me  is  that  he  did  not  wish  to  trouble  me 
while  I  was  so  very  ill  and  that  his  knowledge  of  my  often  expressed 
desire  that  the  Bulletin  be  kept  alive  caused  him  to  use  my  name  without 
first  securing  my  consent. 

Sincerely, 

FRANK  COMEHFORD. 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  325 

NOTE— Mr.  Comerford  says,  "I  CONSIDER  THIS  A  WORTHY 
OBJECT.  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  IS  A  NECESSARY  WEAPON 
AS  LONG  AS  THE  STRIKE  LASTS."  Mr.  Johnston,  the  gentleman 
from  Washington,  and  A.  O.  Wharton  of  the  Railway  Employees'  De- 
partment started  out  to  KILL  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  by  accus- 
ing us  of  forgery,  because  we  took  the  liberty  of  using  Mr.  Comerford's 
name  to  get  subscriptions  for  the  Strike  Bulletin.  Mr.  Comerford  said 
this  is  a  worthy  purpose.  In  other  words,  it  is  perfectly  all  right  with 
him;  he  had  no  OBJECTIONS  TO  MAKE. 

But  Mr.  Johnston  and  Mr.  Wharton  do  make  serious  objections  to 
our  use  of  Mr.  Comerford's  name.  WHY?  Because  they  realize  that 
the  use  of  Mr.  Comerford's  name  is  an  ASSET  TO  THE  STRIKE 
BULLETIN,  an  aid  in  its  progress,  and  a  power  of  resistance  against 
the  efforts  of  the  above-mentioned  gentlemen  to  KILL  THIS  PUB- 
LICATION. 

AND  WHY  IS  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  TO  BE  KILLED? 

Because  it  is  an  open  press,  because  Sam  Jones  and  Bill  Smith, 
who  have  been  on  strike  for  forty-four  months  and  have  paid  the  price 
demanded  of  them  in  this  fight,  are  allowed  to  sing  their  song  in  the 
Strike  Bulletin  without  any  "trimmings"  being  put  on  what  they  have 
to  say,  because  I  refuse  to  censor  the  say-so  of  Jones  and  Smith,  but 
leave  it  to  YOU  to  decide  whether  they  are  right  or  wrong,  because  we 
make  the  Strike  Bulletin  AN  OPEN  PRESS. 

Several  months  ago  the  strike  was  to  be  called  off.  All  the  machines 
were  lined  up  for  action  toward  this  end.  The  little  messenger  boys 
who,  right  or  wrong,  do  the  things  they  are  told  to  do  by  the  BIG  BOSS, 
got  their  instructions.  I  also  got  my  instructions,  but  I  REFUSED 
TO  OBEY.  I  asked  myself  the  reasons  for  this,  and  by  so  doing, 
became  an  unfaithful  servant — a  disobedient  slave.  I  told  you  in  the 
Strike  Bulletin  my  position  on  the  matter  of  calling  off  the  strike  and 
invited  you  to  state  yours.  I  insisted  that  we  must  at  least  talk  the 
matter  over,  as  it  was  the  most  important  issue  that  had  come  up  since 
the  inception  of  the  strike. 

You  and  the  rest  of  us  talked  it  over,  and  what  was  the  result? 
WE  WON.  We  kept  the  movement  from  being  disgraced  by  calling 
off  the  strike  and  whitewashing  the  scabs.  We  fought  the  entire  machine 
— all  of  the  machines  in  the  labor  movement  that  had  set  out  to  white- 
wash the  scabs — and  we  beat  them. 

This  defeat  gave  them  to  understand  that  before  UNDERTAKING 
AGAIN  TO  CALL  OFF  THE  STRIKE,  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN 
MUST  BE  KILLED.  And  the  fight  to  kill  it  is  now  on.  The  statement 
that  the  Strike  Bulletin  sent  out  letters  to  which  Mr.  Comerford's  name 
had  been  forged  is  an  effort  to  poison  your  mind  against  the  Strike 
Bulletin.  But  Mr.  Comerford  states  the  object  was  a  worthy  one.  I 
knew  where  I  stood.  Mr.  Comerford  is  my  friend,  and  he  is  so  much 
a  friend  to  all  the  strikers  that  if  borrowing  his  name  is  of  any  benefit 
to  the  cause,  I  am  welcome  to  use  it.  I  wonder  if  Wharton  and  Johns- 
ton would  not  like  to  have  a  friend  so  near  and  dear  to  them  that  they 
could  use  his  name  without  the  formality  of  asking  his  permission  to  do 
so?  What  is  the  matter,  Wharton  and  Johnston?  Are  you  jealous 
because  I  possess  this  fortune  of  friendship  with  Mr.  Comerford,  which 
you  probably  could  not  purchase  for  a  mountain  of  gold? 

Now,  why  was  the  Strike  Bulletin  to  be  boycotted  at  this  particu- 
lar time?  Because  we  had  made  extensive  preparations  to  advertise 


326  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  strike  and  place  before  all  the  people  the  facts  brought  out  in  the 
Industrial  Commission's  investigation  of  the  strike.  There  was  danger 
that  this  publicity  would  revive  interest  in  the  strike  and,  therefore, 
the  BLOW  HAD  TO  BE  STRUCK  NOW. 

The  special  edition  carrying  the  proceedings  of  this  investigation 
will  be  somewhat  delayed,  but  within  the  next  few  weeks  it  will  be 
ready  for  distribution.  We  have  gone  to  much  expense  in  preparing 
it.  We  have  circularized  the  entire  country  asking  for  orders,  AND 
WE  DEPEND  UPON  THE  ARMY  OF  MEN  WHO  ARE  WITH  US 
TO  SEE  THAT  WE  GET  AN  ORDER  FROM  YOUR  LODGE. 
The  Strike  Bulletin  fought  your  fight  WHEN  THE  MACHINE 
STARTED  OUT  TO  WHITEWASH  THE  SCABS.  THE  SAME 
MACHINE  HAS  NOW  STARTED  OUT  TO  KILL  THE  STRIKE 
BULLETIN.  NOW  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN  NEEDS  YOUR 
SUPPORT.  Go  to  the  next  meeting  of  your  union  and  see  that  we  get 
it.  Your  secretary  has  one  of  our  circulars  asking  for  a  bundle  order. 

If  you  are  for  fair  play,  you  will  see  that  this  is  done  as  a  protest 
against  the  action  WHARTON  AND  JOHNSTON  HAVE  TAKEN 
TO  KILL  THE  STRIKE  BULLETIN.  IF  YOU  ARE  IN  THE 
FIGHT,  LET  US  HEAR  FROM  YOU  NOW. 

April  21,  1914,  CAHL  PEBSON. 


Let  me  call  your  attention  to  a  statement  made  by  Mr. 
William  Hannon,  who  was  the  Machinists'  representative  on 
the  Pacific  lines  up  until  October,  1914.  In  the  Machinists' 
Journal,  pages  259  and  260,  March  issue  for  1915,  Hannon 
says :  "The  executive  committee  of  the  Lodges  Nos.  68,  284 
and  610  are  getting  out  a  letter  requesting  the  labor  movement 
to  organize  publicity  committees  in  every  city  and  request  the 
public  to  arrange  their  transportation  "when  going  to  the  San 
Francisco  Fair,  so  that  they  will  not  travel  over  the  lines  on 
strike."  This  was  the  last  report  that  Hannon  made  on  the 
strike  during  its  progress.  He  was  sent  away  in  the  contract 
field,  where  he  could  not  say  anything  about  the  strike.  Han- 
non cooked  his  own  goose  when  he  played  up  the  strike,  for 
Johnston  gave  him  a  route  where  he  couldn't. 

The  letter  from  the  Machinists  Lodges  Nos.  68,  284  and 
610  was  boycotted  by  the  Railway  Department  and  commented 
on  unfavorably  by  George  Preston  in  his  famous  article  "Ren- 
der Unto  Caesar  the  Things  Which  Are  Caesar's"  in  the  1915 
Machinist  Journal. 

So  you  see  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  was  not  the  only  one 


ANOTHER  WAR  DECLARED  327 

they  went  after.  Hannon  was  sent  to  the  sticks  and  the  letters 
by  the  Machinist  Lodges  Nos.  68,  284  and  610  got  about  the 
same  reception  as  a  copy  of  the  Strike  Bulletin  would  get. 
Any  one,  any  place  that  did  anything  that  would  advertise 
or  benefit  the  progress  of  the  strike  was  jumped  upon,  and 
they  jumped  in  such  a  crude  way  that  anyone  who  studied  the 
movement  realized  that  they  had  gone  over  to  the  railroad 
companies.  That  there  was  a  "sell-out"  planned  some  place, 
somewhere.  This  had  been  noticeable  for  a  long  time,  but  the 
longer  they  were  forced  to  hang  on,  the  more  conspicuous  it 
became. 

They  got  together  and  worked  under  the  Federated  plan 
in  making  this  letter,  charging  me  with  forgery  as  effectively 
as  possible.  The  charges  were  sent  out  through  the  Railway 
Department.  You  see,  they  knew  how  to  get  together  when 
they  wanted  to  get  the  best  possible  results.  And  they  wanted 
to  get  results  on  their  manufactured  forgery  proposition  for 
several  reasons.  First,  to  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin,  so  that  they 
could  declare  the  strike  off,  without  meeting  with  the  protest 
and  criticism,  in  the  way  of  publicity,  that  they  met.  with  in 
November,  1914,  when  they  submitted  their  proposition  to 
the  men.  And,  second,  they  did  not  want  any  publicity  on 
the  Industrial  Relations  hearings;  that  is,  the  railroads  com- 
panies did  not  want  it.  Now  that  the  railway  departments 
had  been  absorbed  by  the  railroads,  it  was  up  to  them  to 
deliver  the  goods.  When  the  railroads  want  publicity  they 
advertise  conspicuously  in  all  of  the  big  papers,  but  no  one 
noticed  where  they  bought  any  space  to  educate  the  public 
on  the  methods  used  by  them  in  the  strike.  How  they  got  their 
strike-breakers,  what  they  paid  them.  To  get  this  information 
out  would  be  beneficial  to  the  men  on  strike,  and  if  anyone 
was  going  to  get  it  out  the  strikers  had  to  do  so.  But  the 
Railway  Department  said  nothing  doing  on  that  noise,  for  as 
soon  as  they  heard  that  we  were  going  to  give  it  special  pub- 
licity, in  a  special  edition,  the  council  was  called  together  and 
Attorney  Comerford  sent  for.  He  was  asked  what  he  had  to 


328  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

do  with  it,  and  why  he  didn't  take  such  matter  up  with  the 
said  Railway  Department.  He  had  been  engaged  to  handle 
the  investigation  before  the  commission  and  I  had  simply 
asked  him  to  see  that  I  would  get  the  notes  of  the  hearing, 
so  that  I  could  publish  them,  but  he  was  blamed  for  the  entire 
publicity  proposition,  and  therefore  called  in  on  the  carpet. 

The  "worthy  brothers"  received  the  indictments  from  the 
Railway  Department.  Of  course,  I  was  a  forger;  there  was 
no  question  about  that.  As  I  slumbered  there  in  my  nest,  I 
could  see  the  barnyard  element  everywhere,  regretting  the  day 
they  donated  a  dime  to  my  defense  fund  in  the  murder  trial 
and  swearing  vengeance  on  the  Strike  Bulletin.  Those  that 
were  getting  the  paper  (outside  of  a  few  places)  and  were 
still  interested  enough  to  read  it,  did  so  in  their  privacy,  for 
fear  someone  would  find  out  that  they  read  the  sheet  and  send 
their  name  into  the  Grand  Lodge,  after  which  they  would  be 
placed  under  as  much  suspicion  as  a  German  citizen  in  London 
or  Paris. 

THE  AUGUSTA  RESOLUTION 

On  April  19, 1915,  Lodge  No.  544, 1.  A.  of  M.,  at  Augusta, 
Ga.,  protested  in  the  form  of  a  resolution  against  the  action 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  discontinuing  the  strike  benefits  of 
Mr.  J.  J.  Bush,  who  had  been  on  strike  for  47  weeks  on  the 
Wrightsville  and  Tennile  Railroad,  without  first  consulting 
Lodge  No.  544, 1.  A.  of  M.  This  resolution  was  sent  to  Presi- 
dent Johnston  of  the  Machinists  and  a  copy  to  the  Strike  Bul- 
letin for  publication.  The  resolution  is  herewith  quoted  in 

full: 

AUGUSTA,  GA.,  April  19,  1915. 

RESOLUTION-  OF  LODGE  No.  644,  I.  A.  OP  M. 

WHEREAS,  We  have  received  a  communication  from  Brother  George 
Preston,  dated  April  9,  1915,  advising  us  that  he  had  been  instructed 
to  advise  that  after  thirty  days  from  date  that  further  benefits 
to  Brother  J.  J.  Bush,  who  has  been  on  strike  at  the  Wrightsville  & 
Tennile  Railway  for  47  weeks,  at  Tennile,  Ga.,  without  even  consulting 
the  members  of  No.  544  as  to  the  advisability  of  discontinuing  said 
benefits,  or  as  to  the  merits  of  the  case;  and 


THE  AUGUSTA  RESOLUTION  329 

WHEREAS,  We  believe  this  to  be  a  violation  of  Article  VIII,  Section 
5,  in  that  no  effort  has  been  made  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  to  settle 
this  strike  and  that  the  strike  has  not  been  called  off  or  the  proposition 
submitted  to  the  men  on  strike;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  benefits  paid  to  this  one  member  is  only  a  small 
expense  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  a  large  per  cent  of  the  sum  total  of  the 
expense  that  the  Grand  Lodge  is  put  to  by  No.  544;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  believe  with  proper  support  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
this  strike  can  be  successfully  won,  the  same  as  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  could  be  if  properly  supported;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  No.  544,  bitterly  protest  against 
the  undue  advantage  taken  by  our  Grand  Lodge  officers  and  that  we  are 
tired  of  too  much  constituted  authority,  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  our  Inter- 
national President,  the  Journal  for  official  publication,  and  Executive 
Board  and  the  Strike  Bulletin  for  publication. 

(Signed)     COMMITTEE. 
PAUL  B.  PRITCHARD,  President  No.  544. 
F.  M.  HARGROVE,  Recording  Secretary. 
W.  T.  RIZER,  Chairman. 

After  receiving  the  resolution  from  Local  No.  544,  Inter- 
national Association  of  Machinists,  the  following  telegram 
was  received  from  Chairman  Rizer  of  the  Resolution  Com- 
mittee : 

TELEGRAM 

AUGUSTA,  GA.,  11 :12  A.  M.,  April  26,  1915. 
CARL  E.  PERSON, 

Clinton,  111. 

President  Johnston  wired  Secretary  Lodge  No.  544  to  withhold  reso- 
lution from  Strike  Bulletin  pending  letter.  He  wrote  me  that  if  we  did 
not  take  steps  to  recall  resolution  he  would  take  action  against  544. 
Willing  to  continue  the  benefits  of  Bush.  Use  own  judgment  about  pub- 
lishing. Letter  follows:  W.  T.  RIZER. 

1:36  P.  M. 

We  have  now  heard  from  Mr.  Rizer,  and  let  us  put  him  on 

the  stand : 

AUGUSTA,  GA.,  April  26,  1916. 

My  Dear  Person:  I  just  wired  you  about  Johnston's  letter  and  I  am 
sending  it  to  you.  I  just  got  it  this  morning,  as  I  never  put  my  street 
address  in  my  letter  to  Johnston.  He  sent  the  letter  care  of  Brother 
Hargrove,  the  Secretary,  but  as  soon  as  he  got  my  letter  he  wired  Har- 
grove to  withhold  resolution  to  Strike  Bulletin,  pending  arrival  of  letter, 
but  it  happened  that  Brother  Hargrove  was  out  of  town  to  the  State 
Convention  at  Columbus,  Ga.,  and  he  said  Fechner  jumped  him  about 
the  resolution  as  soon  as  he  got  there  and  was  awful  sore  about  it,  so  I 
judge  they  have  been  pretty  busy  trying  to  stop  it. 


330  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

I  am  so  mad  at  Johnston  I  could  give  him  a  good  cussing  out  if 
I  was  to  see  him. 

Write  me  right  away  what  you  think  I  ought  to  do  about  it,  and 
whether  you  publish  the  resolution  or  not. 

So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  would  like  to  see  the  resolution  come 
out  and  make  a  fight  with  him,  but  as  I  am  figuring  on  leaving  in  the 
next  few  days  in  search  of  a  job,  it  will  be  inconvenient  for  me  to  make 
a  stand  with  him. 

Trusting  to  hear  from  you  at  once,  I  am, 

Yours  for  the  cause, 

(Signed)     W.  T.  RIZEH. 

As  you  will  note,  Mr.  Rizer  says  that  he  had  received  the 
letter  from  Johnston  and  we  will  let  Mr.  Johnston  speak  for 
himself : 

INTERNATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF   MACHINISTS 

WASHIHGTON,  D.  C.,  April  22,  1915. 
MR.  W.  T.  RIZEH, 

Ch.  Comm.  No.  544. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  esteemed  favor  of  the  20th  enclosing 
copy  of  resolution  adopted  by  No.  644,  in  connection  with  strike  benefits 
in  behalf  of  Brother  J.  J.  Bush,  received  and  contents  noted,  and  in 
reply  beg  to  say  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  G.  E.  B.,  Brother  Preston 
was  instructed  to  communicate  with  all  points  where  strikes  had  been  in 
effect  for  a  long  time  and  advise  them  to  take  such  steps  necessary  to 
secure  work  for  the  strikers  and  to  further  advise  them  that  benefits 
would  be  discontinued  at  an  early  date. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  board  where  there  was  sufficient  reason 
for  maintaining  the  pickets,  some  would  be  continued,  but  we  do  know 
that  in  a  number  of  instances  there  are  a  large  number  of  men  drawing 
strike  benefits  for  a  long  time  who  could  secure  work  if  they  desired 
work.  This  is  clearly  evidenced  by  letters  received  and  from  experiences 
of  the  past. 

In  your  case  we  would  be  glad  to  make  an  exception  and  continue 
benefits  to  Brother  Bush.  The  letter  was  a  general  one  to  all  points,  and 
was  not  meant  especially  for  you. 

I  note  that  your  resolution  provides  copy  be  sent  the  I.  P.  Journal, 
Executive  Board  and  the  Strike  Bulletin  for  publication.  I  want  to 
emphatically  impress  upon  you  that  the  Strike  Bulletin  is  not  approved 
or  endorsed  by  our  International  or  any  other  International  union.  It 
is  owned  and  controlled  by  individual  members,  and  if  No.  644  sends  a 
resolution  to  this  Strike  Bulletin  for  publication,  reflecting  upon  the 
I.  A.  of  M  or  in  any  way  causes  to  be  published  matters  that  should  be 
confined  to  our  own  organization,  I  will  feel  it  my  duty  to  take  action 
against  No.  544. 

We  should  keep  our  business  to  ourselves,  and  try  to  adjust  whatever 
differences  there  may  be  between  ourselves,  and  until  such  time  until 
every  effort  was  made  to  reach  an  understanding  with  the  Grand  Lodge, 
you  have  no  right  whatever  to  send  anything  to  the  Strike  Bulletin. 


THE  AUGUSTA  RESOLUTION  331 

I  want  it  definitely  understood  that  we  will  not  permit  any  of  our  official 
business  that  is  intended  for  the  use  of  our  members  only  to  be  scattered 
broadcast  in  a  publication  that  represents  the  views  of  one  or  two  men. 
I  am  sending  the  Recording  Secretary  a  copy  of  this  letter. 

We  have  all  taken  an  obligation  to  keep  to  ourselves  all  business 
transactions  of  the  organization,  and  by  sending  anything  of  this  char- 
acter to  any  paper,  you  are  violating  your  obligation.  You  should  at 
once  take  steps  to  modify  your  resolution  and  recall  same  if  already 
sent  to  the  Bulletin,  otherwise  we  will  be  compelled  to  take  action. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     W.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

Int'l  Pres. 

President  Johnston  is  just  as  diplomatic  in  this  letter  as  he 
has  tried  to  be  throughout  the  strike.  "He  is  trying  to  make 
the  worthy  brothers  believe  that  the  secrets  of  the  I.  A.  of  M. 
should  not  be  known  to  the  public."  Indeed,  in  this  he  is 
right,  for  many  bloody  revolutions  that  are  now  but  the  records 
in  history  have  been  started  with  much  less  autocracy  than 
Mr.  Johnston  displayed  during  the  strike. 

If  we  are  still  living  in  an  age  where  the  subjects  will  allow 
themselves  to  be  prostituted,  because  they  have  taken  an  obli- 
gation to  "BE  LOYAL  TO  THE  KING,"  then  indeed  let 
the  drama  go  on,  for  such  serfs  are  getting  just  what  is  com- 
ing to  them. 

Mr.  Rizer's  letter  takes  the  cover  off  the  entire  situation. 
Note  Mr.  Johnston  sending  his  stool  pigeon  Fechner  to  the 
Columbus  convention  to  get  after  one  of  the  members  of  Lodge 
No.  544  for  sending  the  resolution  out,  and  that  they  are  busy 
trying  to  stop  it.  Like  everything  else  they  try  to  do,  they 
get  there  too  late.  Any  Broadway  newsboy  or  bootblack 
could  run  away  with  the  entire  aggregation  of  them,  and  it 
would  take  them  six  months  to  find  out  that  they  had  been  lost. 
In  this  case,  Lodge  No.  544  was  able  to  maintain  a  man 
on  the  picket  line  because  the  Strike  Bulletin  was  at  their 
service.  It,  however,  indicated  that  Mr.  Johnston  did  not 
have  very  much  use  for  the  paper.  He  further  states  that  his 
International  union  has  not  endorsed  the  Strike  Bulletin.  In 
this  he  was  mistaken.  The  Machinist  Convention  in  1911,  at 


332  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Davenport,  endorsed  and  sanctioned  the  Illinois  Central  strike 
and  was  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  it  was  a  federated  strike. 
This  Federation  was  publishing  the  Strike  Bulletin. 

What  Mr.  Johnston  meant  to  convey  was  that  when  he 
thought  he  had  killed  the  Federation  by  putting  its  President, 
Mr.  McCreery,  to  sleep  in  Paducah,  and  threatened  Mr.  Bucka- 
lew's  job,  an  individual  broke  in  on  us  and  started  the  darn 
machine  up  again,  and  in  doing  so  he  did  not  put  on  the 
pneumatic  tires  or  cushions  on  the  seats.  To  make  it  worse, 
he  started  out  on  the  rockiest  roads  he  could  find  to  give  us  a 
"shake-up,"  and  he  shook  and  he  shook  and  shook,  until  he 
just  had  to  get  off,  and  therefore  don't  like  the  Federation. 
At  any  rate,  Lodge  No.  544, 1.  A.  of  M.,  were  allowed  to  keep 
their  man  on  the  picket  line  for  a  little  while  longer. 

The  resolution  from  No.  544  was  not  published  in  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  as  we  did  not  want  to  jeopardize  their  oppor- 
tunity of  keeping  their  man  Mr.  Bush  on  the  picket  line.  Had 
the  resolution  been  published,  Bush,  of  course,  would  have 
lost  his  job  and  there  would  have  been  no  picket  on  the  line. 
I  am  sure  that  no  cheap  politician  from  the  palmiest  days  when 
New  York  was  a  village  to  the  days  of  the  64th  Congress 
would  ever  stoop  to  such  a  small  cheap  trick  and  then  jump  like 
a  chicken  with  his  head  off  when  he  was  threatened  with  pub- 
licity. He  will  always  try  to  hang  on  a  constitutional  fence 
when  he  gets  caught  up,  and  in  this  case  he  fell  back  on  one 
of  his  ten  commandments,  which  forbids  anyone  to  mention 
outside  "that  which  we  may  hear  and  see  in  the  inner  circle," 
for  the  fear  that  the  "inner  circle"  would  lose  its  standing 
among  the  thinking  people  if  they  knew  that  such  was  a  part 
of  their  program.  Any  time  any  one  individual  or  organiza- 
tion is  afraid  to  turn  the  switch  of  publicity  on  that  which  they 
are  performing  there  are  some  impure  motives  back  of  the 
curtains  some  place,  somewhere,  and  during  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  strike  there  was  nothing  that  was  more 
feared  among  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  than  publicity. 

You  will  now  better  understand  what  we  were  up  against. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  333 

Such  agents  as  Fechner  could  be  found  any  and  everywhere, 
and  here  we  stood  facing  the  after-effects  of  the  injunction 
issued  by  the  Railway  Department,  and  in  addition  I  had 
several  charges  in  the  civil  courts  that  took  up  my  time. 
Therefore,  we  were  facing  a  situation  that  we  couldn't  meet 
at  that  time ;  every  effort  was  made  to  hang  on  until  we  could 
get  the  special  edition  for  the  Industrial  Relation  investigation 
of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike  out,  and 
this  we  were  successful  in  doing.  Those  who  knew  anything  at 
all  about  the  situation  knew  that  as  soon  as  the  Strike  Bulletin 
was  killed  they  would  call  the  strike  off. 

THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF 

Shortly  after  the  Strike  Bulletin  made  its  valediction  (for 
the  want  of  sufficient  support  to  keep  it  alive),  the  Railway 
Department  called  a  meeting  of  the  International  Presidents 
to  "celebrate  their  victory"  and  declare  the  strike  off.  To  sub- 
stantiate this  I  am  placing  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Railway 

Department  on  the  stand : 

WASHINGTON,  June  18,  1915. 

To  All  Officers  and  Members  of  All  Organizations  Affiliated  with  the 
Railway  Employees'  Department — Greeting: 

Among  the  many  important  matters  receiving  attention  at  the 
hands  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railway  Employees'  Department  at 
its  session,  held  at  headquarters,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  during  the  week  of  May 
24,  1915,  was  that  of  the  long-standing  strike  of  the  shop  employees  of 
the  Illinois  Central,  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Marquette  Systems.  In 
taking  up  these  subjects  for  review,  every  phase  of  the  question  was 
carefully  canvassed  and  given  the  fullest  consideration. 

We  appreciate  the  fact  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  general  officers 
to  exercise  the  functions  of  the  offices  to  which  elected  in  the  interests  of 
the  membership  as  a  whole.  We  have  had  your  loyal  support  and  co- 
operation, together  with  that  of  those  directly  affected,  during  the  three 
years  and  eight  months  that  these  strikes  have  been  in  existence,  and 
after  using  every  honorable  means  at  our  command,  we  have  been  unable 
to  bring  about  an  adjustment.  We  are,  therefore,  unanimously  of  the 
opinion  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  it  becomes  our  duty  to  take 
definite  action  and  terminate  these  strikes. 

Due  to  the  fact  that  these  strikes  were  inaugurated  prior  to  the 
adoption  of  laws  and  rules  of  procedure  now  governing  the  department, 
some  of  the  Executive  Council  members  felt  that  the  laws  of  their  re- 
spective organizations  were  such  that  they  could  not  vote  with  the 


334  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

majority,  but  would  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  council  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  the  department  enacted  at  the  Kansas  City  Convention, 
April,  1914,  at  which  time  the  delegates  by  unanimous  vote  placed  these 
strikes  directly  under  the  supervision  of  the  department  officers  and 
council  members. 

Therefore,  it  is  the  decision  of  the  department  that  the  strikes  on 
the  Illinois  Central,  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Marquette  Systems  are 
declared  officially  at  an  end  on  and  after  10  a.  m.  June  28,  1915. 

With  best  wishes,  we  are, 

Fraternally  yours, 

WILLIAM  H.  JOHNSTON, 
President  International  Association  of  Machinists. 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN, 
President  Brotherhood  of  Boilermakers. 

JAS.  W.  KLINE, 
President,  Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths. 

MARTIN  F.  RYAN, 
President  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Carmen. 

J.  J.  HYNES, 
President  Sheet  Metal  Workers. 

JOHN  SCOTT, 
Secretary-Treasurer  Railway  Employees'  Department. 

A.  O.  WHAHTON, 
President  Railway  Employees'  Department. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Johnston,  President  of  the  Machinists;  Mr. 
M.  F.  Ryan,  President  of  the  Carmen,  and  J.  J.  Hynes,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers,  voted  in  favor  of  calling  the 
strike  off.  Mr.  J.  W.  Kline,  President  of  the  Blacksmiths, 
and  J.  A.  Franklin,  President  of  the  Boilermakers,  voted  not 
to  declare  the  strike  off.  The  circular  letter  announcing  the 
railroad  company's  victory  was  sent  broadcast  all  over  the 
country. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  greatest  railroad  strike  in  history. 
Declared  on  Sept.  30, 1911,  and  declared  off  on  June  28, 1915, 
played  for  45  continuous  months,  during  which  time  it  de- 
pleted the  treasuries  of  the  railroad  companies  and  caused 
pretended  labor  leaders  to  lay  awake  nights,  wondering  and 
worrying  about  their  next  month's  wages. 

Grand  Lodge  officers  were  forced  to  show  their  hand  in 
this  strike  as  never  before.  The  strike  was  called  off  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  Presidents  and  not  by  the  men  involved  in  the 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  335 

strike ;  declared  off  six  months  after  they  had  declared  off  the 
strike  benefits,  so  at  the  time  the  strike  was  declared  off  it  was 
not  costing  them  one  cent.  And  in  declaring  the  strikes  off  the 
companies  made  the  men  no  concessions,  did  not  even  offer 
them  their  old  jobs  back,  or  offer  to  take  any  number  of  them 
back ;  therefore,  in  declaring  the  strikes  off  it  could  benefit  no 
one  but  the  railroad  companies  and  their  strike  breakers,  for 
they  were  then  taken  off  the  unfair  list  of  organized  labor. 

The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  demonstrated  one  fact  in 
calling  the  strike  off,  and  that  was  that  their  pretended  democ- 
racy and  rule  of  the  majority  was  sent  to  the  scrap  basket  and 
substituted  by  the  regime  of  czar-ocracy.  As  they  spoke  out 
in  the  pulpits  to  the  crowd,  they  would  hold  up  the  angle  of 
democracy  and  flatter  a  government  by  the  people,  until  the 
crowd  applauded  enthusiastically,  and  upon  this  they  made 
their  campaign  speeches.  When  they  wanted  to  gratify  their 
own  nefarious  desires  on  the  other  side  of  the  curtains  in  the 
game,  they  step  on  the  decision  of  the  people  involved,  like  a 
mountain  trapper  does  on  a  rattler.  And,  indeed,  this  they  did 
in  calling  off  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes. 
They  stepped  on  the  decisions  of  those  involved  and  again  in 
playing  before  the  spot  lights  to  the  crowd  they  resurrected 
the  same  democracy  that  they  have  punished  and  insulted  and 
waved  it  before  the  crowd  that  there  may  be  more  applause. 
So  the  game  goes  on  and  on  and  on,  like  Barnum's  moving 
palace,  to  catch  its  new  army  of  victims  and  leave  them 
stranded,  stripped  and  deserted  in  the  morning's  misty  dawn, 
that  they  can  go  to  the  waiting  cities  beyond  and  play  to  the 
crowds  that  don't  know  as  yet  that  they  are  going  to  be 
stung. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Johnston,  in  the  Machinists'  Journal,  page 
253,  for  March,  1915,  states  "that  inasmuch  as  this  was  a 
Federation  strike  the  majority  must  be  considered."  On  the 
24th  day  of  May,  1915,  demonstrated  that  he  did  not  mean 
anything  of  the  kind,  for  at  this  time,  two  months  later,  he  said, 
"to  h — 1  with  the  majority;  I  and  I  alone  must  decide  this 


336  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

question  of  legalizing  the  strike  breakers.    I  therefore  declare 
the  strike  off." 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton  of  the  Railway  Department  in  his 
very  interesting  circular  of  Dec.  1,  1914,  written  after  he 
realized  that  he  could  not  induce  the  men  to  declare  the  strike 
off,  says  in  part : 

To  discontinue  strike  benefits  without  giving  the  men  a  chance  to 
say  whether  or  not  they  desired  to  continue  the  strike  under  such  condi- 
tions would  have  been  unfair  to  those  who  have  stood  the  brunt  of  the 
fight.  We  would  have  been  accused  of  forcing  the  men  to  do  one  of  two 
things,  either  quit  the  strike  or  go  to  work  on  the  struck  roads. 

What  was  considered  unfair  by  Mr.  Wharton  in  December, 
1914,  was  considered  fair  by  him  in  May,  1915,  and  so  on, 
with  Haynes,  Ryan,  Johnston,  Scott  and  others;  neither 
one  of  them  had  a  fixed  decision ;  they  didn't  know  where  they 
were  at.  Like  little  children,  they  believe  things  and  act  on 
mere  opinions.  Like  drunken  sailors  in  mid-ocean,  they  know 
not  where  they  are  going  and  care  much  less. 

And  that  you  will  further  note  how  this  decision  in  calling 
off  the  strikes  was  accepted  by  the  rank  and  file,  I  am  herewith 
submitting  some  testimonies  from  the  boys  on  the  line : 

— :—  DEAD  — :— 

SYSTEM  FEDERATION  HARRIMAN  LINES 

Born  Died 

June,  1911  10  A.  M.  June  28th,  1916 

Age  4  years 

Brief  History  of  Short,  but  Eventful  Career 

Born  in  the  beautiful  city  of  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  it  was  only 
3  months  old  when  its  very  life  was  assailed  by  Railroad 
Officials,  gunmen,  thugs,  spotters  and  SCABS.  On  the  24th 
of  May,  1915,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  it  was  hit  by  a  "machine" 
under  the  control  of  Johnston- Wharton-Executive-Board  of 
the  I.  A.  of  M.  Although  this  happened  May  24th,  it  was 
not  until  June  24th,  (one  month  later)  that  we,  the  chief 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  337 

mourners,  were  made  acquainted  with  this  sad  affair,  thus 
rendering  us  unable  to  offer  any  assistance.  She  died  PER 
ARRANGEMENT,  Monday,  June  28th,  at  10  A.  M.  It  is 
our  belief,  that  had  this  "machine"  been  controlled  by  COM- 
PETENT men,  this  could  NEVER  have  happened.  The 
REAL  cause  of  accident — as  yet  unknown.  Inquest  to  be 
held  later. 

N.  B. — Please  Omit  Flowers. 

R.  I.  F. 

Bulletin  No  106— FINAL.** 
Oakland  Local  Federation  Harriman  Lines, 

Oakland,  Cal.,  June  29,  1915. 
Brothers,  Greetings: 

The  following  is  a  paper  clipping  which  appeared  in 
the  San  Francisco  issue  of  the  "Examiner"  of  yesterday 
and  the  Oakland  "Tribune"  of  last  evening : 

"S.  P.  Will  Maintain  Its  OPEN  SHOP  POLICY. 
Announcement  has  been  made  at  the  Oakland  mill  that  the 
action  of  the  boilermakers  and  carmen  WOULD  HAVE 
NO  EFFECT  AS  FAR  AS  THE  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC 
SERVICE  WAS  CONCERNED.  The  boilermakers  in 
the  West  Oakland  shops  went  on  strike  three  years  ago. 
Since  that  time  the  shops  have  been  operated  on  the  "open 
shop"  policy.  Now  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  by  their 
recent  actions  have  endorsed  it.  The  S.  P.  have  operated 
under  it  for  the  last  45  months  and  will  continue  in  the 
future  to  work  under  the  same  policy." 

Not  wishing  to  be  outdone  by  either  Grand  Lodge 
officers  or  the  S.  P.,  we,  the  members  of  Oakland  Local 
Federation  of  the  Harriman  Lines,  now  extinct  by  virtue 
of  union  officials  (?),  have  made  this  the  106th  issue  of  our 
bulletin,  an  open  shop  edition,  wherein  all  who  have  a 
grievance  can  express  same.  We  do  not  want  to  be  placed 


338  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

in  the  position  of  some  Grand  Lodge  officers  who  are  made 
acquainted  with  facts,  but  are  not  permitted  to  make  the 
information  public. 

This  issue  is  a  FREE  FOR  ALL,  consequently  it  is  the 
expression  of  one  of  the  most  disgusted,  humiliated,  but 
yet  honest,  clean,  courageous  set  of  union  men  that  can 
be  found  in  any  section  of  our  land.  They  not  only  carry 
cards,  but  they  have  principles  backing  up  their  cards. 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  of  the  machinists,  carmen 
and  the  sheet  metal  workers  decided  at  a  meeting  held  in 
the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  to  officially  declare  off  the 
strikes  in  force  on  the  Harriman,  Illinois  Central  and  Pere 
Marquette  roads.  In  justice  to  Brother  Kline  of  the  Black- 
smiths and  Brother  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers,  for  they 
did  not  consider  themselves  capable  of  USURPING  the 
wishes  of  the  rank  and  file  by  consenting  to  call  the  strike 
off  without  giving  their  members  a  voice  in  the  matter,  so 
they  sent  out  another  strike  vote  after  requesting  the  other 
Grand  Lodge  officers  to  withhold  that  damnable  circular 
(which  they  were  pleased  to  term  number  64)  until  they 
heard  from  the  rank  and  file  by  vote.  THIS  WAS 
DENIED  THEM. 

In  reading  one  of  the  letters  sent  out  to  the  member- 
ship, accompanied  by  a  vote,  is  this  significant  sentence: 
"I  hope  that  in  time  THE  TRUE  REASON  OF  OUR 
DEFEAT  WILL  COME  TO  THE  SURFACE." 
Brothers,  it  will  be  well  to  study  the  meaning  of  that  sen- 
tence, as  it  is  uttered  by  one  of  the  International  presi- 
dents, who  has  been  in  this  fight  from  the  very  beginning 
and  is  no  doubt  aware  of  happenings  which  we,  the  rank 
and  file,  while  great  in  numbers,  are  of  little  value  in  the 
estimation  of  some  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  when  it 
comes  to  placing  confidence  in  them.  They  always  have 
something  up  their  sleeve  which  they  can't  tell.  It  seems 
that  they  are  very  much  afflicted  at  times  with  that  terrible 
disease  known  as  lockjaw. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  339 

We  here  in  Oakland  are  greeted  every  hour  of  the  day 
with  this  remark,  "Well,  I  hear  that  you  have  been  sold  out 
like  a  lot  of  dogs,"  and  other  remarks  to  the  same  effect. 
We  want  to  say  that  it  is  pretty  hard  for  a  loyal  bunch  of 
union  men  to  have  to  swallow  this,  but  as  we  are  UNABLE 
to  REFUTE  it,  what  else  is  there  left  for  us  to  do  but 
swallow  it  and  hold  our  heads  in  shame?  Not  for  any 
actions  on  our  part,  thank  God,  but  for  the  actions  of 
others. 

We  have  at  least  done  one  thing  for  which  we  should 
feel  proud  of,  and  that  is  that  we  FORCED  SOME  OF 
THE  GRAND  LODGE  OFFICERS  TO  TAKE  AC- 
TION DIAMETRICALLY  OPPOSED  TO  THE  VOICE 
OF  THE  RANK  AND  FILE,  and  for  such  action  believe 
that  every  UNION  man  who  believes  in  the  doctrine  of 
DEMOCRACY— that  is,  THAT  THE  WILL  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  SHALL  RULE— will  condemn  the  actions  of 
those  Grand  Lodge  officers  who  so  flagrantly  violated  this 
virtue.  We  have  heard  from  time  to  time  that  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  have  taken  exceptions  to  some  of  the  re- 
marks when  same  either  boldly  or  by  "inuendo"  referred 
to  them  as  traitors  to  organized  labor.  We,  having  in 
mind  circular  No.  48,  sent  out  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
strikers  in  November,  1914,  asking  them  to  vote  on  the 
calling  off  or  continuing  of  the  strike,  telling  us  at  the 
same  time  that,  irrespective  of  which  way  the  vote  was 
cast,  that  we  would  receive  no  more  benefits  after  Decem- 
ber 1.  YET  in  spite  of  this,  voting  with  our  eyes  wide 
open,  we  decided  with  a  MAJORITY  vote  to  continue  the 
strike. 

Johnston  has  claimed  at  times  that  such  action  as  he 
has  just  taken  would  be  to  the  interest  of  the  entire  mem- 
bership. We  do  not  know  whether  this  is  so,  but  time 
will  now  tell.  This  we  DO  KNOW — that  Johnston  and 
the  other  Grand  Lodge  officers  who  have  called  this  strike 
ARE  TRAITORS  TO  THE  INTERESTS  OF  THE 


340  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

STRIKERS.  WE  WOULD  WELCOME  ANY  DENIAL 
TO  THIS  LAST  REMARK. 

We  have  a  letter  addressed  to  a  Machinist  Lodge  in 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  by  President  Johnston  (a  copy  of  which 
we  have  in  our  possesison),  and  in  it  he  uses  the  following : 
"The  strike  should  be  declared  off  BY  THE  MEN— THEY 
ARE  THE  ONES  WHO  VOTED  IT  ON."  If  the  men  in 
Memphis  are  WISE  they  will  take  action  to  have  the 
proposition  resubmitted  to  the  entire  membership."  Did 
he  wait  for  them  to  take  this  action  that  he  begged  for? 
NO,  NOT  ON  YOUR  LIFE.  It  is  strange  that  what  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  seem  to  be  WISE  to,  the  rank  and 
file  aren't  able  to  see  in  the  same  light.  We  think  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  ENTIRE  MEMBERSHIP  will  condemn 
this  action  to  force  the  strikers  to  see  things  AGAINST 
THEIR  WILL. 

We  have  a  clipping  taken  from  the  "Desert  News" 
of  Salt  Lake,  and  it  gives  a  statement  credited  to  Charles 
T.  Nicholson,  one  of  the  members  of  the  General  Executive 
Board  of  the  Machinists.  He  stands  equally  condemned 
with  Johnston  in  their  recent  action.  He  says : 

"The  order  to  call  off  the  strike  comes  from  the  General 
Executive  Council  of  the  Railway  Employees'  Department 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  and  I  WAS  AD- 
VISED OF  IT  SEVERAL  WEEKS  AGO,  BUT  WAS 
NOT  PERMITTED  TO  MAKE  THE  INFORMATION 
PUBLIC."  (Another  case  of  lockjaw.) 

We  would  like  to  know  if  there  is  any  significance  in 
the  fact  that  this  strike  is  called  off  the  latter  part  of  June, 
which  is  the  end  of  the  company's  fiscal  year,  when  they 
(the  company)  are  making  their  appropriations  for  the 
ensuing  year?  Again  Nicholson  says,  "That  with  the 
settlement,  many  of  the  old  employees  will  return  to  work 
here." 

Does  anyone  know  of  the  SETTLEMENT  he  refers 
to?  If  they  do  we  would  be  pleased  to  hear  what  it  is. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  341 

To  us  it  is  an  UNCONDITIONAL  SURRENDER.  But 
this  last  remark  of  his  is  a  HUM-DINGER.  Listen:  "The 
Machinists  gained  many  points  by  the  strike."  He  cer- 
tainly does  not  refer  to  the  striking  machinists.  If  others 
have  gained  through  our  defeat,  we  suppose  that  Nicholson 
thinks  that  we  should  be  satisfied,  but  the  question  is,  how 
long  will  they  enjoy  these  privileges  gained  at  the  expense 
of  others? 

Now,  to  any  brothers  who  contemplate  working  in  any 
of  these  WHITE-WASHED,  SCABBY  DUMPS,  take  a 
little  tip  from  those  who  know.  The  company  is  raising 
HELL  with  their  scabs  at  the  present  time.  If  they  raise 
hell  with  those  who  helped  them  in  sore  distress,  WHAT 
WILL  THEY  DO  TO  THE  UNION  MAN  WHO  HAS 
BEEN  FIGHTING  THEM  FOR  45  months?  The  answer 
is  too  fierce  to  contemplate.  But  we  do  hope  that  all  those 
who  have  been  hollering,  "Why  don't  they  call  the  strike 
off?"  (and  Johnston  claims  that  it  is  this  element  largely 
that  had  forced  him  to  usurp  the  voice  of  the  MAJORITY 
and  call  off  this  strike),  will  go  down  and  get  jobs,  and 
get  your  bellies  full  of  the  conditions,  and  when  you  have 
cause  to  regret  your  action  just  get  into  a  quiet  little  spot 
all  by  yourself,  away  from  the  SCABS,  and  offer  up  a 
silent  little  prayer  THANKING  Johnston  for  the  condi- 
tions which  you  ENJOY. 

Now,  Brothers,  I,  as  Secretary,  want  to  have  just  a  lit- 
tle personal  talk  with  you.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight.  I 
have  kept  the  faith.  I  have  given  the  best  that  was  in  me 
to  uphold  the  principles  of  Unionism.  I  leave  this  office 
next  Saturday  with  this  one  satisfaction — I,  my  cause — 
your  cause — OUR  cause — has  been  defeated,  NOT  by  the 
enemy  without,  but  by  the  enemy  within.  I  have  enjoyed 
the  sweet  associations  which  you  and  I  have  had,  our 
hearts  still  beat  true,  and  our  only  salvation  in  the  future 
is  to  RID  our  organizations  from  the  CANCER  that  is 
eating  the  very  heart  out  of  it. 


342  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

If  any  of  you  desire  to  communicate  with  me,  a  letter 
addressed  to  1808  Seventh  St.,  Oakland,  will  reach  me. 
What  the  future  has  in  store  for  me  I  don't  know,  but  it 
looks  anything  but  encouraging.  But  come  what  may,  I 
shall  always  remember  each  one  of  you  as  MY  FRIEND 
AND  BROTHER.  It  means  something  to  be  aggressive 
in  a  fight  of  the  magnitude  of  the  one  through  which  we 
have  passed.  That  little  giant  of  organized  labor,  Brother 
Carl  E.  Person,  can  vouch  for  this.  So,  Brothers,  my  part- 
ing word  to  you  all  is,  Good-bye,  and  may  good  luck  follow 
you  in  your  HONORABLE  undertakings.  It  is  the  senti- 
ment of  the  boys  that  the  sentiments  in  this  bulletin  are 
addressed  to  UNION  MEN,  and  NOT  TO  THE  GRAND 
LODGE  OFFICERS  WHO  ARE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR 
THE  SAD  PLIGHT  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR. 

Yours  fraternally, 

OAKLAND    LOCAL    FEDERATION 

HARRIMAN  LINES  (DECEASED). 

J.  Robertson,  Sec.-Treas. 


INTERNATIONAL    ASSOCIATION    OF    MACHIN- 
ISTS.   LODGE  NO.  314. 

June  22,  1915. 
Office  of  Secretary, 

1803  Franklin  Street, 

Waterloo,  Iowa. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother : 

Acting  under  instructions  of  Lodge  No.  314  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Machinists,  I  am  herewith  for- 
warding to  you  copy  of  resolutions  bearing  on  the  illegal 
calling  off  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Line 
Strikes. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  343 


RESOLUTION. 

Whereas,  Lodge  No.  314  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion 
that  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railroad  Employes 
Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  were  acting  without  juris- 
dictional  power  at  their  meeting  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  on 
May  24th,  1915.  It  is  therefore 

Resolved,  That  we  severely  and  unequivocally  condemn 
the  action  of  the  said  Executive  Council  in  calling  off  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Line  strike  UNCONDI- 
TIONALLY, and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  demand  the  immediate  resig- 
nation of  President  A.  O.  Wharton,  and  the  Executive 
Council  for  their  CONTEMPTIBLE  AND  DESPIC- 
ABLE ACTION,  and  especially  we  demand  the  immediate 
resignation  of  Machinists  as  presiding  officer  of  that  or- 
ganization for  HIS  TRAITOROUS  CONDUCT  in  sub- 
mitting to  such  a  TYRANNICAL  ACTION,  and  be  it 
further 

Resolved,  That  immediate  steps  be  taken  to  lay  the 
entire  matter  before  President  Samuel  Gompers,  President 
of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  insisting  that  he  (President  Gompers) 
immediately  investigate  the  SCANDALOUS  and  ARBI- 
TRARY ACTION  as  taken  by  the  Railroad  Department, 
in  the  UNCONDITIONAL  SURRENDER  OF  THE 
STRIKERS  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines." 

Trusting  that  this  will  be  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the 
feelings  of  the  MEN  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  BETRAYED 
AFTER  FORTY-FIVE  (45)  MONTHS  OF  STRUGGLE 
AND  SACRIFICE,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

FRANK  CONNER, 
Recording  Secretary,  No.  314, 1.  A.  of  M. 


344  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Portland,  Ore.,  June  29,  1915. 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  All  Crafts  Affiliated  with 
the  Railway  Employes  Department.     Greeting: 

The  action  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Railway  Em- 
ployes Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  held  May  24th,  1915, 
has  shown  up  in  the  form  of  Circular  Letter  No.  64,  which 
has  been  sent  broadcast  to  the  entire  membership.  The 
subject  matter  of  this  letter  is  to  the  effect  that  the  Illinois 
Central,  Harriman  Lines,  Pere  Marquette  strike  shall  be 
officially  declared  off  June  28th,  1915. 

We,  the  members  of  Rose  City  Local,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  rank  and  file,  would  like  to  review  this  action.  In  the 
first  place,  we  would  like  to  say  that  Circular  No.  64  is 
the  most  infamous  document  that  has  ever  been  issued, 
inasmuch  as  it  strikes  at  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  organization.  Ever  since  the  Railroad  Department 
has  had  anything  to  do  with  these  strikes,  there  seems  to 
have  occurred  a  chain  of  events  that  are  detrimental  to 
the  same.  Let  us  go  back  into  the  history  of  the  strike  a 
little  to  the  formation  of  the  Railroad  Department  which 
was  made  possible  by  action  that  arose  out  of  this  strike, 
and  which  met  at  Kansas  City,  April  15th,  1912. 

At  this  convention,  there  was  a  resolution  introduced, 
known  as  Resolution  No.  5.  The  purpose  and  understand- 
ing of  this  resolution  was  that  a  ballot  be  spread  on  all 
railroads  represented  in  the  convention,  as  follows: 
"Shall  we  demand  a  settlement  of  the  strikes  now  in 
progress  and  shall  we  ask  for  a  parallel  agreement?"  This 
was  carried  unanimously,  and  were  the  instructions  of  the 
convention  to  the  officers,  and  instead  of  sending  out  the 
ballot  as  instructed,  they  sent  out  a  sympathetic  strike 
vote,  and  one  International  President  believed  that  it  was 
going  out  wrong  and  of  course  put  up  this  way,  the  vote 
failed  to  carry. 

In  the  meantime,  the  strike  was  being  given  publicity  by 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  345 

the  Clinton  Strike  Bulletin,  THE  OFFICIAL  ORGAN 
OF  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  SYSTEM  FEDERA- 
TION. And  how  well  this  was  done  is  shown  by  the  attack 
on  the  life  of  its  editor  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 
The  latter  was  beaten  by  thugs  and  finally,  as  you  all  know, 
they  attempted  to  railroad  him  to  the  gallows,  and  all  this 
was  done  that  THE  CLARION  VOICE  OF  THE  BUL- 
LETIN MIGHT  BE  STILLED  and  the  justice  of  our 
fight  be  defeated.  This  Bulletin  was  an  open  forum, 
playing  no  favors.  Therefore,  through  its  columns  some 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  criticized  for  some  of 
their  actions  and  the  same  columns  were  open  for  rebuttal. 
We  have  always  believed  in  free  speech  and  have  fought 
for  this  right  and  it  is  far  safer  to  let  all,  right  or  wrong, 
express  themselves  than  suppress  speech,  for  the  latter 
has  been  the  means  of  some  of  the  greatest  upheavals  in 
society,  but  some  people  at  this  day  and  age  do  not  believe 
in  FREE  SPEECH 

At  the  next  convention  of  the  Railway  Department,  the 
strike  was  again  voted  into  the  hands  of  the  Department 
with  the  instructions  that  the  officers  fight  this  thing  to  a 
finish.  THIS  WAS  UNANIMOUS.  Instead  of  doing 
this,  the  next  thing  we  hear,  is  of  a  ballot  being  put  out 
to  call  the  strike  off,  and  so  closely  was  the  time  gauged 
that  we  did  not  have  time  to  put  our  side  of  the  question 
before  the  members,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  heroic 
efforts  of  the  Clinton  Bulletin,  they  would  have  succeeded 
in  their  object,  as  it  was,  the  vote  went  to  continue  the 
strike. 

For  its  loyalty  to  the  Cause  of  the  strike  and  its  Free 
Speech  policy,  the  latter  being  the  strongest  fundamental 
principle  of  Organized  Labor,  the  Bulletin  was  slated  for 
elimination  and  the  Railway  Department  made  a  move  that 
duplicated  the  intent  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  what  the  railroad  company,  with  all  its  wealth, 
had  failed  to  do  the  Department  did.  THEY  KILLED 


346  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

THE  PUBLICITY  OF  THE  STRIKE  BY  TAKING 
AWAY  ITS  VOICE,  the  Clinton  Bulletin.  And  they 
did  this  by  putting  out  a  letter,  in  which  they  likened  the 
Editor  of  the  Bulletin  to  a  Forger,  because  he  used  Frank 
Comerford's  name  at  the  bottom  of  letters  asking  for 
subscriptions  to  the  Bulletin.  Frank  Comerf  ord  had  given 
general  permission  to  use  his  name  for  any  purpose  that 
would  aid  the  strike  and  had  never  objected  to  his  name 
being  used,  and  at  this  time  was  sick  and  had  also  stated 
that  his  name  was  used  to  keep  the  voice  of  the  strike  alive, 
which  he  believed  was  a  necessary  work. 

In  this  letter  emanating  from  the  Department  there  was 
skillfully  applied  inference  that  Person  did  this  for  his 
own  financial  gain,  when  it  is  a  fact  that  Person  put  two 
or  three  thousand  dollars  that  he  had  saved  up  into  the 
strike  and  has  left  himself  penniless. 

The  Department  officers  had  been  thwarted  in  their 
designs  of  overriding  the  wishes  of  the  Kansas  City  con- 
vention and  getting  the  strike  called  off,  ignoring  alto- 
gether the  altruism  of  the  Editor  in  his  work  for  the 
cause.  The  Bulletin  must  be  silenced  and  you,  Mr.  Sub- 
scriber, at  the  behest  of  a  few  officers,  left  our  only  means 
of  publicity  a  wreck  and  the  persecution  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  is  vindicated.  Don't  say,  Brother,  that 
you  did  not  know  that  we  depended  on  the  Bulletin  to  keep 
our  strike  before  the  public,  and  how  necessary  it  was  to 
keep  it  alive  to  fight  this  strike.  We  have  appealed  to  you 
time  and  again.  The  Machinists  sent  out  a  circular  letter 
and  map  showing  you  the  conditions  of  the  railroads  of 
the  country.  We  have  written  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  San 
Francisco  has  protested  against  this  very  act  of  calling  off 
the  strike  unconditionally.  We  have  had  endorsements 
from  lodges  that  represent  thousands  of  Machinists,  but 
they  have  been  ignored  and  in  all  our  appeals  the  rank  and 
file  have  accepted  the  situation,  though  the  precedent  that 
is  being  established  strikes  at  your  own  survival. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  347 

If  there  is  not  a  demand  from  all  around  the  country  for 
the  withdrawal  of  the  circular  letter,  then  indeed  have 
you  all  placed  the  yoke  upon  yourself  and  placed  yourself 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  officers,  who,  to  work  their  own  will, 
disregard  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  our  organization, 
the  referendum,  and  this  is  what  the  Machinists'  Grand 
Lodge  officers  have  done.  Here  are  the  chain  of  events: 
First,  putting  out  the  general  proposition  as  a  sympa- 
thetic strike ;  then  putting  out  a  ballot  contrary  to  instruc- 
tions; then  the  move  to  kill  the  Strike  Bulletin,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  the  Circular  Letter  No.  64,  right  on  the  eve 
of  the  Industrial  Relations  Investigation  of  the  strike  and 
when  thousands  were  traveling  to  the  San  Francisco  Expo- 
sition and  when  we  should  have  been  advertising  more 
than  ever,  we  were  being  undermined.  And  we  have  the 
ludicrous  spectacle  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  going  be- 
fore the  Commission  to  uphold  the  justice  of  the  strike, 
while  on  the  other  hand,  they  were  doing  all  they  could 
to  promote  its  failure.  Oh,  the  bitterness  of  the  thought 
that  we  have  been  defeated  by  our  own  people ! 

The  Official  Circular  No.  64,  states  that  the  vote  to  call 
the  strike  off  was  unanimous.  Yet  the  Blacksmiths'  Presi- 
dent sent  out  a  circular  letter  rendering  Circular  Letter 
No.  64  null  and  void,  and  also  states  that  he  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Boilermakers  voted  in  the  negative,  so  how 
can  it  be  unanimous.  These  latter  crafts  have  been  given 
ballots  and  it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  them  all  to  be- 
come counted  before  the  Circular  Letter  No.  64  becomes 
operative,  according  to  the  Grand  Lodge  officers'  decree. 
Now,  is  it  a  question  of,  "Mr.  Jones,  you  are  elected  before 
we  count  the  votes  to  see  whether  you  are  or  not"?  This 
is  certainly  efficiency,  and  so  high-handed  was  the  action 
that  the  Machinists  of  No.  433  repudiated  the  letter  and 
as  far  as  we  are  concerned  the  strike  is  still  on. 

President  Kline  hopes  that  the  real  cause  of  our  defeat 
will  come  to  the  surface.  Is  there  something  underneath 


348  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

all  the  effort  to  call  this  strike  off?  There  are  some  of  the 
Brothers  that  are  beginning  to  have  strange  suspicions 
that  other  motives  than  those  put  out  on  the  surface  are 
the  real  reason  for  all  this  effort  and  the  methods  that  have 
been  pursued  certainly  do  not  warrant  us  being  non-suspi- 
cious. The  inconsistencies  are  apparent  to  all  who  wish 
to  investigate. 

We  ask  you,  Brothers,  are  you  going  to  take  the  decree 
as  final?  Brothers,  we  have  fought  a  strike  the  greatest 
in  the  history  of  our  country,  people  have  laid  down  their 
lives  and  sacrificed  their  homes  and  the  great  ideal  that 
made  them  do  this  was  the  cause  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  workers.  Is  it  in  vain  that  our  Brothers  have  laid 
down  their  lives?  Will  you  let  us  be  driven  helpless  into 
the  hands  of  the  railroad  companies?  The  same  companies 
that  have  no  other  thought  than  dollars?  Who  could  see 
a  mother  with  a  NEW-BORN  BABE  at  her  side  crying 
for  water  down  in  the  desert  country,  and  when  a  delega- 
tion of  strikers  asked  the  superintendent  to  allow  her  to 
have  water,  he  said  "No,"  and  threatened  to  fire  any  man 
that  allowed  her  to  have  it. 

This  heartless  corporation  is  what  you  want  to  drive  us 
back  to,  without  protection,  where  nothing  stands  between 
us  and  the  vindictiveness  of  tools  of  the  railroad  compa- 
nies. Can  you,  for  the  hope  of  a  few  men  going  to  work, 
or  for  the  desire  of  mere  per  capital  do  this  thing?  Have 
you  not  seen  the  fallacy  of  this  policy?  Do  you  not  know 
that  by  so  doing  you  are  showing  your  weakness?  The 
railroads  are  already  set  to  give  Labor  one  of  the  biggest 
fights  in  its  history,  and  then  your  turn  will  come.  YOU 
will  then  remember  those  who  died  down  in  the  desert  for 
the  right  to  live  in  freedom. 

(Signed.)  C.  R.  MERRILL, 

Secretary  Strikers'  Federation. 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  349 

RAILROAD  LODGES  NO.  610, 1.  A.  M.  of  M. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  July  8,  1915. 
Dear  Sir  and  Brother: 

On  June  28th,  1915,  the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central, 
Harriman  Lines,  and  Pere  Marquette  Railroads  were  called 
off  by  President  Johnston  and  the  General  Executive 
Board,  acting  with  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Railroad 
Employees  Department. 

We  deplore  this  action  as  DISASTROUS  to  our  best 
interest  as  UNION  men.  One  striker  was  told  by  the 
General  Superintendent  of  Motive  Power  that  NO 
STRIKERS  OR  UNION  MEN  would  be  employed  in  the 
future.  The  company  had  articles  printed  in  the  local 
newspapers  stating  "CONDITIONS  WILL  REMAIN 
UNCHANGED,"  evidently  meaning  that  the  SCABS  are 
safe. 

Circular  No.  65  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  over  Presi- 
dent Johnston's  signature  says,  among  other  things: 
"Practically  every  representative  of  a  Railroad  District, 
and  all  of  the  Railroad  Lodges  that  have  written  us  have 
been  urging  the  termination  of  these  strikes." 

We  would  like  to  know  if  YOUR  Lodge  has  been  one 
of  those  referred  to  in  President  Johnston's  circular,  and 
if  you  have  written  to  him  asking  him  to  declare  this  strike 
off.  We  would  like  to  know  if  YOU  were  in  favor  of  the 
strike  being  declared  off.  And  has  your  District  Repre- 
sentative written  to  President  Johnston  urging  him  to  call 
the  strike  off?  Did  you  authorize  your  District  Repre- 
sentative to  do  this?  If  you  did  not,  what  authority  did 
he  have  for  doing  it? 

Do  you  know  that  the  company  is  assuring  the  SCABS 
that  their  jobs  are  secure,  and  that  strikers  are  told  that  the 
company  is  full-handed?  That  those  roads  are  now  NON- 
UNION roads?  That  we  have  LOST  instead  of  gaining 
by  this  action? 


350  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Please  answer  this,  and  let  us  know  your  sentiments  in 
this  matter.  With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

GEORGE  ADAMS,  Recording  Secretary. 
Endorsed  by  Executive  Board  No.  68-284-610, 1.  A.  of  M. 

Let  us  throw  a  little  more  light  on  this  subject  in  which 
I  want  to  introduce  a  letter  from  Washington,  which  is  a  reply 
from  Lodge  No.  473,  Danville,  111.,  in  regards  to  the  circular 
sent  out  calling  off  the  strike  benefits  in  December,  1914.  Let 
us  observe  Mr.  Conlon  carefully : 

WASHINGTON,  Dec.  31,  1914. 
MB.  R.  H.  FRYMAN, 

Lodge  No.  473. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  esteemed  favor  of  recent  date,  pro- 
testing against  the  issuance  of  official  circular  No.  48,  in  connection  with 
the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  and  Pere  Mar- 
quette  Railroads,  received  and  contents  noted. 

In  reply  beg  to  say  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what  part  of  the 
circular  you  protest  against.  The  circular  above  referred  to  was  sent 
to  all  of  the  members  as  a  notification  that  on  and  after  December  the 
first  strike  benefits  would  be  discontinued  on  these  lines  by  the  various 
organizations. 

In  fact  the  Machinist  organization  was  the  only  one  paying  regular 
benefits  to  strikers.  The  other  organizations  had  notified  their  members 
prior  to  the  strike  that  no  stated  benefits  would  be  paid,  but  they  would 
do  what  they  could  to  assist  the  strikers.  Some  of  the  organizations 
have  from  time  to  time  donated  money,  but  at  no  time  have  they  agreed 
to  pay  regular  benefits. 

It  has  cost  our  Grand  Lodge  more  than  $1,000,000  besides  what  our 
local  lodges  contributed  and  sent  directly  into  the  various  federations 
and  districts,  and  we  have  felt  for  a  long  time  that  it  was  a  waste  of 
money  to  continue  paying  benefits,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  hope  of 
bringing  about  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  these  strikes.  Then,  again, 
we  felt  that  it  was  a  very  great  injustice  to  the  balance  of  the  mem- 
bership, many  of  whom  have  requested  permission  from  time  to  time  to 
demand  to  go  on  strike  for  an  increase  in  wages,  but  have  been  pro- 
hibited because  the  Grand  Lodge  could  not  assume  any  additional  obli- 
gations. 

We  took  the  only  action  we  could  take  and  that  was  to  notify  all 
concerned  no  further  benefits  would  be  paid.  We  left  it  entirely  to  the 
membership  who  are  directly  involved  whether  or  not  the  strike  should 
be  continued.  Would  you  have  us  declare  off  benefits  without  giving  the 
men  an  opportunity  of  deciding  whether  or  not  they  should  continue  the 
strike?  Don't  you  think  we  did  a  wise  thing  in  giving  the  men  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  their  sentiments  on  the  subject? 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  351 

I  am  satisfied  that  after  giving  the  matter  consideration,  you  will 
agree  with  me  that  we  did  the  only  thing  that  could  be  done.  We  wanted 
to  know  what  the  sentiments  of  the  men  were;  in  fact,  we  have  been 
receiving  letters  for  the  last  two  years  urging  us  to  vote  on  the  question 
and  we  would  have  been  very  derelict  in  our  duty  if  we  failed  to  give 
them  a  chance. 

To  have  failed  to  do  the  things  for  which  we  are  now  being  censored 
would  have  given  these  very  people,  who  are  so  ready  to  condemn  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers,  the  opportunity  they  are  looking  for  to  accuse  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  forcing  them  back  to  work  against  their  will. 

The  strikes  have  lasted  three  years  and  there  is  no  possible  chance 
for  success.  No  sane  man  who  has  given  the  matter  any  consideration 
and  who  knows  the  facts  connected  with  these  strikes,  can  advance  any 
argument  why  we  can  expect  these  companies  to  make  any  terms  with 
the  strikers.  That  day  has  passed.  If  we  cannot  win  the  strikes  after 
38  months,  it  should  be  evident  to  all  right-thinking  men  that  the  strikes 
will  not  be  won. 

The  men  in  the,  shops  are  becoming  very  proficient,  a  large  number 
of  apprentices  have  been  instructed,  and  the  position  of  the  company  is 
stronger  than  ever  before.  Whereas,  the  positions  of  the  men  have  con- 
stantly grown  weaker,  and  no  effective  picket  duty  is  being  done  at  any 
single  point. 

I  say  again  to  continue  to  spend  more  funds  to  pay  benefits  would 
be  a  waste  of  money  and  an  imposition  on  the  membership  working 
under  much  poorer  conditions  than  obtain  on  the  struck  roads. 

For  three  years  we  have  cautioned  our  members  and  sometimes  have 
had  to  take  a  positive  position  against  them  making  an  aggressive  move 
that  might  involve  us  in  trouble,  owing  to  the  tremendous  financial  bur- 
dens we  were  confronted  with,  and  owing  to  the  strikes  we  were  involved 
in.  But  we  cannot  forever  keep  putting  these  men  off  and  compel  them 
to  work  under  conditions  that  are  objectionable  to  them. 

The  vote  to  continue  the  strike  will  mean  that  it  will  be  several 
years  before  we  can  organize  these  systems.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
vote  had  been  to  discontinue  the  strike,  I  am  satisfied  that  these  com- 
panies will  not  want  any  strikes  for  many  years  to  come. 

We  must  remember  if  our  membership  is  composed  of  men  em- 
ployed on  other  roads  and  in  other  shops  and  factories,  besides  the  three 
roads  mentioned  in  circular  No.  48,  that  these  men  have  some  rights, 
that  those  rights  must  be  protected,  and  this  we  have  been  endeavoring 
to  do. 

With  best  wishes,  I  remain, 

Fraternally  yours, 

P.  J.  CONLON-, 
Int.  Vice  Pres.  I.  A.  of  M. 


Mr.  Conlon  was  expressing  President  Johnston's  views  at 
the  time,  for  if  you  will  read  Mr.  Johnston's  report  in  the 
March  issue  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  1915  you  will  find 
the  same  soft  song  of  the  siren.  Mr.  Conlon  states  in  his  let- 
ter :  "DON'T  YOU  THINK  WE  DID  A  WISE  THING  IN 


352  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

GIVING  THE  MEN  AN  OPPORTUNITY  IN  EXPRESS- 
ING THEIR  SENTIMENT  ON  THE  SUBJECT?" 

If  this  was  wise  and  proper  in  November,  1914,  why 
shouldn't  it  be  wise  and  proper  in  May,  1915? 

But  Mr.  Conlon  further  states:  "WOULD  YOU  HAVE 
US  DECLARE  OFF  THE  BENEFITS  WITHOUT  GIV- 
ING THE  MEN  AN  OPPORTUNITY  OF  DECIDING 
WHETHER  OR  NOT  THEY  SHOULD  CONTINUE  THE 
STRIKE?"  Isn't  it  a  fact  that  the  men  decided  to  continue  the 
strike  without  benefits  ?  And  if  decisions  should  be  left  to  the 
men  involved  in  1914,  why  should  such  decisions  be  taken 
away  from  them  in  1915?  And  please  remember  at  this  time 
the  strike  is  not  costing  the  association  a  penny.  When  the 
strike  was  a  drain  on  their  treasuries  they  were  willing  to 
leave  the  decision  to  the  men  and  when  the  strike  was  not 
costing  them  anything  the  Grand  Lodge  took  it  upon  them- 
selves to  decide. 

Can  you  not  understand  now  that  the  strike  vote  in  Novem- 
ber, 1914,  was  taken  for  one  purpose,  and  one  purpose  only, 
and  that  was  the  purpose  of  calling  the  strike  off  at  that 
time?  At  that  time  they  tried  to  play  upon  the  money  end 
of  it  as  the  real  cause ;  that  the  strike  was  too  much  of  a  burden 
on  their  treasury.  This  was  as  false  as  it  was  misleading. 
They  only  had  a  few  men  on  the  line  to  whom  they  were  pay- 
ing benefits,  and  the  best  evidence  available  to  prove  that  such 
was  false  is  the  fact  that  they  called  the  strike  off  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  it  cost  them  nothing. 

Conlon  in  his  letter  states : 

We  have  felt  for  a  long  time  that  it  was  a  waste  of  money  to  con- 
tinue paying  benefits,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  hope  of  bringing  about 
a  satisfactory  settlement  of  these  strikes. 

From  Conlon  we  find  that  the  Association  considered  the 
paying  of  strike  benefits  a  waste  of  money  unless  direct  returns 
on  the  money  are  obtained.  Had  the  pioneers  of  the  labor 
movement  subscribed  to  Conlon's  policy  of  direct  returns  for 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  353 

the  money  and  time  invested  we  would  not  have  a  labor  move- 
ment today. 

Is  it  not  possible  that  Conlon  as  Vice  President  for  the 
Association  of  Machinists  made  some  particular  trip  that  cost 
the  Association  as  Conlon's  salary  and  expenses  four  or  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  the  initiation  fees  and  dues  from  those 
Conlon  induced  to  join  the  union  amounted  to  fifty  or  a  hun- 
dred dollars?  Then,  in  the  words  of  Conlon,  this  would  be  a 
waste  of  money  because  the  Association  did  not  get  immediate 
returns  on  the  money  invested.  Mr.  Conlon,  of  course,  would 
not  recognize  the  value  of  the  services  rendered  on  the  trip 
that  would  bring  the  Association  thousands  of  dollars  in  the 
distant  future,  any  more  than  he  would  recognize  the  value  of 
the  money  placed  with  the  men  on  strike  that  would  also  bring 
the  Association  the  things  valued  far  in  excess  of  thousands 
of  dollars  in  the  distant  future. 

What  would  you  say  if  one  of  the  prospective  brothers 
who  Conlon  called  on  to  explain  the  benefits  of  membership 
in  the  Machinists'  union  would  carry  on  a  conversation  some- 
thing like  this: 

Conlon:  "Good  morning,  brother;  I  represent  the  Inter- 
national Association  of  Machinists.  I  am  here  organizing  a 
lodge  and  earnestly  solicit  your  application  for  membership 
in  the  Association." 

Prospect:  "Yes,  I  was  thinking  about  joining  the  union, 
and  heard  it  was  a  good  investment  for  the  money,  until  I  met 
Hiram  Green,  who  said  that  paying  union  dues  was  a  waste 
of  money." 

Conlon :  "Oh,  you're  wrong,  brother ;  the  money  paid  to 
the  union  is  the  best  investment  you  can  make." 

Prospect :  "When  you  mention  good  investment  I  am  cer- 
tainly interested.  What  are  your  initiation  and  dues?" 

Conlon :  "Five  dollars  for  initiation  and  one  dollar  a  month 
for  dues." 

Prospect:  "What  interest  will  you  pay  on  this  invest- 
ment?" 


354  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Conlon :  "You  will  get  union  conditions  in  the  shop  and 
frequent  increases  in  wages." 

Prospect:  "Let's  see;  initiation  five  dollars  and  dues  one 
dollar.  That  will  necessitate  an  investment  of  six  dollars." 

Conlon :  "Yes,  for  six  dollars  you  will  be  a  union  man  in 
good  standing." 

Prospect:  "Now  you  will  guarantee  to  have  my  month's 
salary  raised  six  dollars ;  that  will  give  me  direct  returns  for 
my  money.  And  as  the  banks  get  ten  per  cent  on  short  loans 
I  should  have  an  additional  sixty  cents  to  consider  your  propo- 
sition a  good  investment." 

Conlon:  "Oh,  you're  unreasonable,  brother.  You  must 
not  expect  to  get  the  principal  of  your  investment  with  interest 
back  in  one  month.  You  should  look  into  the  future  and  realize 
that  if  you  get  a  two  per  cent  increase  in  wages  you  will  have 
the  principal  of  your  investment  with  a  large  interest  back  in 
a  year." 

Prospect:  "The  future!  Who  cares  for  that?  I  am  not 
making  investments  for  the  benefit  of  anyone  in  the  future. 
I  may  not  be  here  a  year  from  now.  I  am  not  concerned  about 
the  interest  of  anyone  but  myself.  I  see  now  where  Hiram 
Green  was  right ;  your  proposition  is  'a  waste  of  money.'  I  am 
too  wise  to  be  caught  on  any  such  blue  sky  proposition." 

Of  course,  Conlon  or  no  other  labor  organizer  ever  met  a 
prospect  as  unreasonable  and  inconsistent  as  the  prospect  in 
the  foregoing  conversation.  There  is  only  one  of  this  type 
that  we  have  met,  and  that  is  Mr.  Conlon  himself.  With  him 
the  money  and  effort  put  in  the  strike  were  a  waste  of  money. 
Had  the  members  of  organized  labor  been  as  narrow  on  this 
subject  as  Mr.  Conlon,  then  there  would  not  be  any  labor 
organizations  today.  Union  men  have  willingly  paid  their 
dues  and  furnished  the  money  necessary  that  keeps  the  unions 
together  without  the  slightest  expectation  of  getting  their 
money  back  or  interest  on  same.  They  were  satisfied  with 
taking  a  chance  as  far  as  their  investments  were  concerned, 
knowing  fully  that  if  the  returns  on  the  time  and  money  they 


355 

put  in  the  movement  did  not  benefit  them  it  would  be  beneficial 
to  others  in  the  future. 

So,  too,  the  membership  participating  in  strikes  make  sac- 
rifices for  the  future  interest  of  the  movement.  The  men  on 
the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  did  this.  After  sacri- 
ficing 45  months  of  their  time  for  the  future  interest  of  the 
labor  movement  they  were  informed  by  Conlon  that  this  was 
a  waste  of  time  and  the  money  the  Machinists'  Union  had  put 
in  the  strike  "was  wasted  money." 

There  are  two  types  of  traitors  to  the  labor  movement. 
One  is  the  Hiram  Green  type,  who  is  frequently  seen  giving 
the  bettered  conditions  which  are  fought  and  paid  for  by  his 
fellows  a  welcome  reception.  But  to  appropriate  a  dollar  for 
the  ammunition  that  brought  them  down,  that  he  considers  a 
waste  of  money.  The  other  type  is  the  Pete  Conlon  type,  who 
considers  the  money  invested  in  strikes  a  waste  of  money.  He 
refuses  to  recognize  the  fact  that  it  was  the  strikes  in  the 
annals  of  the  labor  movement  that  are  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  the  very  best  conditions  of  today  and  the  tomorrows. 

Let  us  hear  from  Conlon  again.  In  paragraph  four  of  his 
letter  he  also  states : 

Then,  again,  we  felt  that  it  was  a  very  great  injustice  to  the  balance 
of  the  membership.  Many  of  whom  have  requested  permission  from  time 
to  time  to  demand  to  go  on  strike  for  an  increase  in  wages,  but  have 
been  prohibited  because  the  Grand  Lodge  could  not  assume  any  addi- 
tional obligation. 

Mr.  Conlon  makes  a  weak  effort  here  to  convey  that  be- 
cause of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes,  the 
Machinists'  International  did  not  have  other  strikes.  The 
association  could  not  assume  any  additional  obligations.  This 
statement  by  Conlon  is  a  gross  misrepresentation  of  facts,  for 
during  the  period  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  strikes 
there  were  many  other  strikes  called  and  disposed  of.  The 
Machinists'  Journal,  page  1197,  issued  for  the  month  of  De- 
cember, 1914,  in  a  list  of  strikes  then  in  progress  and  strikes 
that  were  called  since  the  inception  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strike,  gives  the  following  information : 


356  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Battle  Creek  Mich.,  Duplex  Printing  Press  Co. 

Birmingham,  Ala.,  National  Cast  Iron  Co. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Witteman  Mfg.  Co.,  Alber  Gas  Engine  Co. 

Chicago,  Goodman  Mfg.  Co.,  Otis  Elevator  Co. 

Cincinnati,  Toledo  Electric  Welding  Co. 

Copperhill,  Tenn.,  Tennessee  Copper  Co. 

Davenport,  la.,  The  Linograph  Co. 

Erie,  Pa.,  Ball  Engine  Co.,  Reed  Mfg.  Co.,  Burke  Electric  Co. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Baldwin,  Tuthill  &  Bolton. 

Granite  City,  111.,  American  Steel  Foundries. 

Houston,  Texas,  Grant  Locomotive  Works. 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  E.  C.  Atkins  Saw  Co.,  Dimond  Chain  Co. 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Atlas  Machine  Co. 

Memphis,  Tenn.,  Memphis  Machine  Co. 

New  York  City,  C.  V.  G.  Auto  Repair  Shop. 

Oswego,  N.  Y.,  Oswego  Machine  Works. 

Petersburg,  Va.,  Contract  Shops. 

Plainfield,  N.  J.,  Saurer  Plant  of  International  Motor  Co. 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  North  East  Electric  Co. 

Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Ont.,  Can.,  Algona  Steel  Corporation. 

Savanah,  Ga.,  Kehoes  Iron  Works. 

Tennile,  Ga.,  Wrightville  &  Tennile  Ry. 

Toledo,  Ohio,  Toledo  Bridge  &  Crane  Co. 

Pere  Marquette  R.  R. 

Missouri,  Oklahoma  &  Gulf  R.  R. 


Mr.  Conlon  knew,  when  writing  his  letter,  that  the  above 
mentioned  strikes  were  called  after  the  strike  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  were  called,  and  that  they  were  in 
progress  in  December,  1914,  the  very  date  of  Conlon's  letter. 
And  that  the  million  dollars  that  he  and  Johnston  wishes  to 
charge  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike  was 
partly  appropriated  in  some  or  all  of  the  above  mentioned 
strikes. 

The  fact  remains  that  the  Association  had  as  many  strikes 
during  the  period  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
strike  as  they  ever  had  before.  Nobody's  interest  was  jeop- 
ardized because  of  the  Association's  obligation  to  the  railroad 
strikes  as  Conlon  would  wish  us  to  believe.  The  men  or  local 
lodges  whose  demands  to  strikes  were  turned  down  by  the 
Association  because  of  the  Association's  large  obligation  to 
the  railroad  men  were  simply  double-crossed  by  such  people  as 
Conlon  and  Johnston.  If  they  were  soft  enough  to  permit 
Conlon  and  Johnston  to  put  it  over  on  them  without  further 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF 


357 


investigation,  then  they  received  their  just  dues.  Better  to 
have  it  rubbed  into  them  before  going  on  strike  than  after. 

Mr.  Johnston,  on  page  253  of  the  Machinists'  Journal 
for  March,  1915,  as  well  as  Mr.  Conlon,  in  this  letter,  states 
that  the  strike  has  cost  them  $1,000,000.00.  All  the  burdens 
and  mismanagement  of  the  Association  was  hung  on  the  backs 
of  the  men  who  went  on  strike  upon  the  instructions  of  the 
Association ;  therefore,  let  us  see  for  ourselves  what  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  cost  them.  Possibly  the  Asso- 
ciation made  money  on  the  strike? 

Let  me  give  you  the  figures  from  Secretary  Geo.  Preston's 
own  financial  statement,  after  they  have  been  verified  by  the 
auditing  committee.  The  following  is  the  amount  paid  out 
in  strike  benefits  from  June  1,  1911,  to  June  1,  1915,  and  the 
receipts  on  Circular  No.  10  for  the  same  period.  You  will 
remember  that  the  striker's  money  was  confiscated,  and  they 
claim  authority  from  Circular  No.  10: 


For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 
For  the  six  months 

ending 
ending 
ending 
ending 
ending 
ending 
ending 
ending 

Nov. 
May 
Nov. 
May 
Nov. 
May 
Nov. 
May 

30, 
31, 
30, 
31, 
30, 
31, 
30, 
31, 

1911. 
1912. 
1912. 
1913. 
1913. 
1914. 
1914. 
1915. 

Strike  benefits 
paid     out     by 
the      Interna- 
tional Associ- 
ation _of 
Machinists 

$   301,033.76 
219,525.74 
103,791.00 
141,614.50 
121,603.00 
74,395.00 
99,549.00 
30,106.75 

Amount    re- 
ceived on  Cir- 
cular No.  10 

$  17,149.85 
45,406.21 
38,001.40 
15,609.35 
4,585.05 
973.90 
17.80 

Total  strike  benefits  paid  for  the  four 
years  during  the  I.  C.  and  Harri- 
man Lines  strike $1,091,618.65 

Total  receipts  on  Circular  No.  10 


$121,743.56 


It  must  now  be  understood  that  $1,091,618.65  that  the 
Association  paid  out  as  strike  benefits  is  strike  benefits  paid  out 
to  all  strikes  during  this  period,  of  which  there  were  many 
others  besides  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines. 

The  receipts  on  Circular  No.  10  is  the  amount  that  was 
confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  which  was  the  property 


358  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

of  the  men  on  strike,  as  we  have  proven  in  the  records.  There- 
fore, we  will  deduct  the  receipts  of  Circular  No.  10  from  the 
amount  paid  out  by  the  Association  as  strike  benefits : 

Total  paid  out  for  strike  benefits $1,091,618.65 

Total  confiscated  from  the  strikers 121,743.56 


Total  $   969,875.09    ' 

Now  we  find  that  all  strikes  for  the  four  years  in  which  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes  were  in  existence 
cost  the  Association  $969,875.09. 

The  next  is  to  determine  what  portion  of  the  $969,875.09 
can  be  charged  up  to  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
strike,  and  we  can  best  do  this  by  finding  out  what  the  Asso- 
ciation paid  as  miscellaneous  strike  benefits  before  the  incep- 
tion of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes  were 
called. 

Here  is  the  amount  the  Association  paid  out  as  strike  bene- 
fits for  the  two  years  previous  to  June  1,  1911 : 

For  the  six  months  ending  Nov.  30,  1909 $  57,785.00 

For  the  six  months  ending  May  31,  1910 84,444.29 

For  the  six  months  ending  Nov.  30,  1910 247,445.00 

For  the  six  months  ending  May  31,  1911 121,987.00 

Total $521,661.29 

Now  we  have  the  amount  paid  out  for  the  two  years  pre- 
vious to  the  Illinois  Central  strike,  but  as  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines  strike  ran  for  nearly  four  years,  we  will 
have  to  double  this  to  determine  what  the  Association  paid 
out  as  the  average  strike  benefits  for  the  four  previous  years 
to  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  strikes : 

Strike  benefits  paid  for  two  years  previous  to  I.  C. 

and  Harriman  &  Lines  strikes $   521,661.29 


Total  average  for  four  years $1,043,322.58 

Now  we  find  that  the  average  strike  benefits  paid  by  the 
Association  for  the  four  years  prior  to  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strikes  were  called  is  $1,043,322.58.  This  is 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  359 

the  amount  that  made  up  the  general  run  of  expenses  for  the 
different  strikes  that  took  place  during  this  period.  There- 
fore, let  us  deduct  this  amount  from  what  the  Association  paid 
out  for  the  four  years  during  the  Illinois  Central  strikes.  Be- 
cause the  Association  had  the  various  strikes  throughout  the 
country  after  the  Illinois  Central  strike,  just  as  they  had  them 
prior  to  the  Illinois  Central  strike. 

Total  amount  paid  in  strike  benefits  for  all  strikes  during 
the  four  years  which  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strikes  were  inclusive $1,091,618.65 

Deducting  the  amount  which  was  the  general  and  average 
run  of  strike  benefits  prior  to  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strikes 1,043,322.58 


Cost  of  the  Illinois  Central  strikes  to  the  International 

Association  of  Machinists $     48,296.07 

But  we  still  have  the  receipts  from  Circular  No.  10,  which 
the  Grand  Lodge  confiscated,  and  which  is  the  property  of  the 
men  on  strike,  and  as  this  money  did  not  and  does  not  belong 
to  the  Association,  we  will  deduct  this  amount  from  what  it 
cost  the  Association  for  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strikes: 

Total  amount  confiscated  by  the  Association  from  the  men  on 
strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  from 
circular  No.  10. $121,743.56 

Cost  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikes  to  the 
Association,  after  deducting  the  average  cost  of  strikes 
for  the  four  years  previous  to  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strikes 48,296.07 


Grand  Lodge  profit $  73,177.79 

Now  we  have  shown  you  where  the  Association  of  Machin- 
ists actually  made  $73,177.79  by  crying  for  funds  for  the 
war  babies  on  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines. 

In  addition  to  this,  there  is  on  the  Association's  financial 
reports  receipts  as  assessments  from  Dec.  1,  1912,  to  June 
1, 1915,  receipts  amounting  to  $16,075.30,  during  a  time  when 
there  has  been  no  Grand  Lodge  assessments  levied,  and  there- 
fore these  assessments  must  be  voluntary  donations  for  strikes. 
If  such  is  the  case,  this  $16,075.30  was  also  the  property  of 


360  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  men  on  strike,  and  was  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
when  switched  into  their  treasury. 

Let  us  further  look  into  Vice  President  P.  J.  Conlon's 
letter  or  President  Johnston's  report  in  the  March  issue  of  the 
Machinists'  Journal  for  1915.  Mr.  Conlon's  letter  was  writ- 
ten in  December  after  the  Association  declared  off  the  strike 
benefits  and  his  cry  was  that  the  Illinois  Central  strike  was  a 
drain  on  their  treasury,  and  therefore  the  strike  benefits  were 
declared  off.  Yet  you  will  understand  how  misleading  this 
was  after  I  have  showed  you  that  they  actually  made  a  profit 
on  the  strike  of  $73,177.79. 

Again,  something  which  is  the  joker  in  Mr.  Conlon's  let- 
ter. He  states  that  if  the  vote  had  carried  to  discontinue  the 
strikes,  they  would  have  organized  the  systems  and  had  good 
working  agreements  in  a  year  or  so.  Of  course,  Mr.  Conlon 
in  December,  1914,  did  not  think  that  his  association  would 
trample  on  the  decision  of  the  men  involved.  But  now  that 
they  did,  why  did  they  not  make  their  promise  good  and  get 
their  good  agreements  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  ?  Three  years  have  elapsed  since  they  declared  the  strike 
off,  and  there  is  nothing  like  an  agreement  on  these  roads  yet. 
Does  he  think  for  a  minute  that  the  companies  spent  ($7,000,- 
000)  seven  million  per  month  in  that  strike,  and  after  they 
licked  the  men  with  the  assistance  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers, 
that  they  are  going  to  let  anyone  come  in  and  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  something  that  will  cost  them  $7,000,000  per  month 
again  ?  Not  much.  Give  Mr.  Markham  and  Mr.  Kruttschnitt 
credit  for  having  more  sense  than  that.  That  stuff  goes  all 
right  with  some  of  the  monkeys,  but  not  with  anyone  that  will 
look  the  situation  squarely  in  the  face,  or  someone  who  has 
tested  the  system  and  is  honest  enough  to  look  at  it  in  its 
naked  form. 

Mr.  Conlon  in  his  letter  makes  mention  of  "the  other  organi- 
zations" associated  in  the  strike.  Whenever  the  Machinists 
were  called  on  to  explain  some  of  their  shortcomings  during 
the  strike  they  instantly  took  for  cover  behind  the  weakness 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  361 

of  the  other  organizations.  Conlon  did  this.  Mr.  Johnston 
always  did  the  same.  They  cried  because  the  other  organiza- 
tions were  cheating  and  exposed  the  shortcomings  of  the  other 
organizations  in  the  case  to  justify  their  own  shortcomings. 
Mr.  Johnston  in  his  letter  of  Sept.  15,  1913,  to  W.  A. 
Moore  of  Waterloo,  Iowa,  then  Secretary  of  the  Machinist 
District  No.  21,  said: 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  other  organizations  are  going  about  the 
country  informing  that  the  machinist  organization  is  bankrupt,  while 
they  have  lots  of  money.  It  would  be  very  easy  for  us  to  boast  of  having 
lots  of  money  if  we  never  paid  any  out,  the  same  as  these  organizations. 

I  have  a  desire  to  see  Johnston's  statement  concerning  the 
other  organizations  stand  up.  Johnston  as  much  as  states 
that  the  other  organizations  never  paid  any  money  out.  I  am 
unable  to  defend  Johnston  in  this  statement,  for  I  know  all 
of  the  organizations  associated  in  the  strike  paid  out  some 
money.  It  is  true  that  some  of  them  only  put  a  few  dollars  in 
the  strike,  but  let  us  give  them  credit  for  what  they  did  do. 

"The  other  organizations  had  lots  of  money,"  said  Mr. 
Johnston.  Here  he  conveys  the  idea  that  the  other  organiza- 
tions were  getting  rich  on  account  of  the  strike.  Mr.  John- 
ston's statement  means  nothing  unless  it  is  substantiated  by 
facts.  This  he  did  not  do,  but  as  I  have  a  desire  to  see  Mr. 
Johnston's  statement  stand  up  I  am  going  to  build  up  a  defence 
for  him  and  produce  the  necessary  facts. 

Here  are  the  financial  statements  as  published  in  the  Boiler- 
makers1 Journal  for  a  period  of  eighteen  months  during  the 
very  heart  of  the  strike.  Page  314,  April  number  of  the 
Boilermakers1  Journal  for  1914,  says : 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  transaction  in  the 
various  fund  accounts  for  the  year  ending  Dec.  31, 1913 : 

Strike         Death        Trans- 
Total         General       Journal      Benefit       Benefit     portation    Fidelity 
Balance  Jan..   1913...$  13.685.69  $  4.104.68  $      957.71  $  6,840.80  $  1,504.87  $     273.63  $    4.00 

Cash    receipts    179.144.31     53,554.31     12.495.97     89,257.17     19.636.59       3,570.27     630.00 

Exch.    receipts    3,199.25          224.00        2,975.00        ..... ..       

Transferred     3,700.00         (700.00)      (3,000.00)     

Total     .  ...$196,029.25  $61,582.99  $12.753.68  $99,073.22  $21,141.46  $      848.90  $634.00 

Cash  disbursements    ..   141.648.82    61,591.59     11,321.81     62,735.42      6,000.00        

Exch.    disbursements. . .       3,199.25          224.00     2.975.25       ••••• 

Total   disbursements. $144.848.07  $61,815.59  $11,321.81  $65,710.67  $  6,000.00       „;;•»•„• 

Bal.  Dec.  31,  1913..     51,181.18         232.60       1,431.87     33,362.85     15,141.48         843.90    634.00 


362  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Page  719  of  the  Boilermakers*  Journal  for  September, 
1914,  further  states : 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  transaction  of  the  vari- 
ous fund  accounts  for  the  period  from  Jan.  1,  1914,  to  July 
16,1914: 

Jan.  1.   1914 $  51.181.18    $  (232.60)$  1,431.87  $33,362.55  $15,141.46  $     843.90  $634.00 

Cash   receipts   95,055.18    28,935.61      6,633.63    46,377.65     10.221.69      2,051.92     834.68 

Transferred 3,456.68      (5,000.00)     3,000.00(1456.68) 

Total  .  ...$146,236.36  $32,159.69  $  8,065.50  $79,740.20  $20,363.15  $5.895.82  12.00 
Cash  disbursements...  87,681.26  29.843.26  6,854.32  43,309.44  2,950.00  4.724.24  

BaL  July  16,  1914..$  58,555.10  $  2,316.43  $  1,211.18  $36,430.76  $17.413.15  $  1.171.58  $  12.00 

Now,  I  have  taken  Johnston's  statement  concerning  the 
other  organizations  and  given  it  a  little  respectability.  These 
statements  represent  the  intermediate  period  of  the  strike ;  let 
us,  therefore,  determine  just  how  prosperous  the  Boilermakers' 
Union  is  growing  under  the  heavy  burden  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  Harriman  Lines  strike. 

On  Jan.  1, 1913,  the  Boilermakers  had  in  their  strike  fund 
$6,840.80,  and  at  the  end  of  the  same  year  they  had  been  able 
to  raise  the  strike  fund  to  $33,362.55.  This  is  not  so  bad 
for  one  year's  business  in  which  they  tried  to  make  it  appear 
that  the  strike  was  bankrupting  their  organization.  Let  us 
now  keep  uppermost  in  our  minds  that  the  membership  of  the 
Boilermakers'  Union  stood  in  poverty  on  the  strike  zone,  while 
the  International  Union  banked  the  difference  between 
$6,840.80  and  $33,362.55  as  one  year's  profit  while  soliciting 
for  the  war  babies. 

Let  us  further  note  that  the  strike  fund  was  the  Boiler- 
makers' most  prosperous  fund.  No  other  fund  in  the  financial 
statement  shows  the  profit  that  the  strike  fund  shows.  In 
fact,  it  was  due  to  the  strike  fund  that  the  union  was  able  to 
increase  their  bank  account  during  the  year  of  1913  from 
$13,685.69  to  $51,181.18. 

For  the  eighteen  months  represented  by  the  Boilermakers* 
financial  statement  we  find  that  the  strike  fund  grew  from 
$6,840.80  to  $36,430.76  and  due  to  this  healthy  growth  of 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  363 

the  strike  fund  the  International  Union  during  a  period  of 
18  months  increased  their  bank  account  from  $13,685.60  to 
$58,555.10.  This  is  doing  pretty  fair  at  the  expense  of  the 
war  babies.  This  is  what  President  Johnston  of  the  Machin- 
its  means  when  he  stated  that  the  other  organizations  are  get- 
ting rich  on  the  strike.  Johnston  made  this  assertion  and  I 
have  placed  it  in  concrete  form  so  that  President  Franklyn 
and  his  emissaries  cannot  tear  it  down  even  though  they  may 
equip  themselves  with  the  most  modern  pneumatic  devices  in 
their  efforts  to  do  so. 

It  is  alleged  that  President  Franklyn  of  the  Boilermakers 
stated  at  the  meetings  of  the  Railway  Department  and  else- 
where that  every  time  he  signed  checks  for  strike  benefits  he 
felt  that  it  was  that  much  money  thrown  in  the  sewer.  His 
financial  statements  will  at  least  indicate  that  he  was  very  much 
inclined  that  way. 

I  have  already  proven  that  the  Machinists'  International 
Union  under  the  direction  of  President  Johnston  made  a  profit 
of  $73,177.79  on  the  strike.  Now,  I  have  shown  you  that 
the  strike  was  also  a  profitable  one  to  the  Boilermakers' 
Union  under  the  direction  of  President  Franklyn.  The  same 
is  true  as  far  as  the  Carmen  and  some  other  organizations 
are  concerned.  To  build  up  their  financial  treasuries  at  the 
misfortune  of  the  membership  on  strike  was  the  ambition 
of  the  politicians  rather  than  to  win  the  strikes  and  com- 
pensate those  who  were  putting  up  the  fight. 

Now  let  us  give  you  some  authority  direct  by  the  Interna- 
tional officers  as  to  the  cost  of  the  strike. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  March  11,  1912. 

The  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  has  lasted 
five  months.  After  three  months'  battle  President  Markham  of  the 
Illinois  Central  made  the  statement  to  Gov.  Brewer  of  Mississippi  (who 
stated  to  the  undersigned  and  others)  that  it  had  cost  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral $7,000,000.00  already,  but  that  they  had  been  reimbursed  from 
other  sources  $15,000,000.00,  proving  the  charge  that  the  railroads 
were  federated,  a  privilege  they  denied  their  employees.  Undoubtedly 
it  cost  the  Harriman  Lines  more  than  double  the  amount,  and  that 
being  the  case,  this  strike  is  costing  the  railroad  companies  $7,000,000.00 


364  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

per  month.  If  they  are  willing  to  spend  this  amount  to  fight  the  fed- 
erated shop  crafts,  it  means  a  continuation  of  the  fight  on  the  separate 
unions  if  we  lose  this  strike. 

(Signed) 

J.  W.  KLINE.  M.  F.  RYAN.  G.   F.  HEADRICK. 

J.  A.  FRANKLIN.  M.  O'SULLIVAN.  J.  T.  KINSELLA. 

W.  H.  JOHNSTON.  J.  J.  CAKEIGAN.  JOHN   FITZPATBICK. 

How  Is  that?  Did  they  in  May,  1915,  declare  the  strikes 
off  so  that  the  separate  unions  could  be  whipped  on  the  other 
roads?  Well,  you  have  their  own  word  for  it.  They  either 
told  you  a  gross  lie  in  1912  for  the  purpose  of  swindling  you, 
or  they  prostituted  the  labor  movement  in  1915  by  calling 
the  strike  off. 

Let  us  see  what  Mr.  Johnston  says  in  the  Machinists' 
Journal  for  1912  (page  293,  March  issue),  as  follows: 

"ALL  PREVIOUS  RAILROAD  STRIKES  WERE  OF 
THE  ONE-TRADE-AT-THE-TIME  CHARACTER. 
THE  FUTURE  WELFARE  OF  ALL  RAILROAD  SHOP 
MECHANICS  ON  ALL  OTHER  SYSTEMS  WILL 
LARGELY  DEPEND  ON  THE  OUTCOME  OF  THIS 
STRUGGLE." 

If  Mr.  Johnston's  statement  was  true  in  1912,  what,  then, 
shall  happen  to  all  other  railroad  mechanics  on  all  other 
roads  ? 

To  satisfy  the  inquiring  mind,  who  may  ask  the  question : 
What  excuse  did  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  put  up  in  declar- 
ing the  strike  off  and  surrender  a  principle  that  was  sacred 
to  labor?  I  wish  to  quote  a  portion  of  a  letter  that  was  sent 
out  by  Secretary  John  Scott  of  the  Railway  Department, 
dated  in  St.  Louis,  July  24,  1915.  In  this  letter  Mr.  Scott 
endeavored  to  place  the  responsibility  for  declaring  the  strike 
off  on  the  shoulders  of  the  strikers  by  stating,  "That  it  was 
the  expressed  sentiments  from  many  of  the  members."  It  was 
the  expressed  sentiments  of  many  of  the  members  in  the  council 
of  the  Railway  Department,  but  Mr.  Scott  tried  to  convey 
that  it  was  the  expressed  sentiments  of  the  men  who  were 
putting  up  the  fight  on  the  lines  on  strike.  This,  however,  was 


THE  STRIKE  DECLARED  OFF  365 

both  false  and  misleading,  for  the  strikers  expressed  them- 
selves in  November,  1914,  in  a  manner  which  did  not  indi- 
cate that  they  wanted  to  surrender  anything  in  behalf  of 
the  strike-breakers  and  the  companies.  But  like  all  their  pre- 
vious decisions,  they  are  not  men  enough  to  stand  by  their 
own  convictions,  and  therefore  they  made  an  effort  to  throw 
it  upon  the  shoulders  of  those  whom  they  have  victimized. 

In  addition,  Mr.  Scott,  in  his  letter  of  July  24,  says  in 
part:  "The  council  members  also  had  in  mind  the  possibility 
of  again  organizing  these  lines,  as  evinced  by  the  testimony 
of  President  Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  before  the  In- 
dustrial Relations  Commission,  in  which  he  said  in  part:  'We 
have  never  closed  the  doors  to  the  men  who  went  out  on  strike, 
but  have  left  the  doors  open,  unless  they  have  been  engaged 
in  actual  acts  of  violence  and  destructions  of  company  prop- 
erty. The  fact  that  a  man  went  out  on  strike  does  not  dis- 
qualify him  for  future  employment  by  the  company,  and 
that  situation  exists  today.  We  have  always  been  glad  to 
have  them,  and  the  applications  of  our  old  employees  will  be 
given  the  preference.' " 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers,  through  Mr.  Scott,  now  made 
an  endeavor  to  build  up  a  fence  to  lean  on,  realizing  that  they 
had  just  pulled  off  the  shadiest  job  that  was  ever  pulled 
off  anywhere  in  the  annals  of  the  labor  movement.  So  they 
come  forth  with  what  Mr.  Markham  said  before  the  Com- 
mission. Mr.  Markham  and  his  company  were  on  trial  be- 
fore the  Commission,  and  of  course  Mr.  Markham  was  talking 
in  his  own  defense.  He  was  building  up  a  case  for  his  com- 
pany, and  knew  how  to  do  it.  He  did  not  think  for  one  min- 
ute that  the  pretended  labor  leaders  would  take  any  stock 
in  his  statements,  and  was  not  concerned  about  them.  He  was 
talking  for  the  records,  just  as  Mr.  Johnston  and  others  had 
done  when  they  realized  that  there  was  a  stenographer  on  the 
job  taking  the  notes.  They  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  the 
boys  back  home  will  read  their  pre-arranged  speeches.  Presi- 
dent Markham  knew  how  to  build  up  his  case  before  the  Com- 


366  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

mission  so  those  that  are  reading  it  today  in  the  industrial  re- 
ports will  say,  after  having  read  it,  "He  is  a  grand  old  man, 
and  there  is  no  question  about  that.  If  he  could,  by  making 
this  statement,  quoted  by  Secretary  Scott,  win  the  'dips'  over 
and  declare  the  strike  off,  then  Mr.  Markham  is  the  right 
man  and  in  the  right  place,  and  the  only  charge  against  him 
is  that  he  did  not  make  the  same  statement  some  three  years 
before  this  time,  so  that  the  strike  could  have  been  declared 
off  a  long  time  ago."  For  this  lack  of  vigilance  on  Mr.  Mark- 
ham's  part  the  Board  of  Directors  are  justified  in  putting 
a  few  demerit  marks  against  his  record.  And  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  as  well,  for  just  think  of  all  the  time  wasted 
by  them  when  this  thing  could  have  been  settled  a  long  time 
ago  by  a  simple  declaration  by  Mr.  Markham. 

Mr.  Markham  didn't  mean  a  word  of  it.  The  Grand  Lodge 
officers  are  well  aware  of  that.  And  now  the  excuse  set  forth 
to  the  labor  movement  in  Secretary  Scott's  letter  was  set  up 
for  the  same  purpose.  In  setting  it  up,  the  Grand  Lodge  offi- 
cers knew  that  it  was  hot  air,  but  the  kind  of  hot  air  they 
expected  to  justify  their  own  operations  with,  and  what  they 
thought  would  catch  the  suckers,  so  when  reading  it  they 
would  say,  "Indeed,  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  are  some  grand 
fellows ;  they  declared  the  strike  off  so  that  they  can  organize 
the  strike-breakers  and  declare  another  fight  on  C.  H.  Mark- 
ham  and  Julius  Kruttschnitt ;  that  is  sure  a  fine  idea;  never 
thought  that  they  were  as  bright  as  all  this."  And  that 
night  in  their  dreams  they  can  see  Johnston,  Franklin,  Ryan 
and  the  rest  of  them  marching  the  strike-breakers  out  on  a 
new  strike  and  go  to  the  Park  Row  station  and  serve  notice 
on  Mr.  Markham  that  he  is  discharged,  and  have  to  start  all 
over  again  shoveling  coal  on  the  docks  and  join  their  new 
union.  And  Judge  Lovett  is  called  in  from  Broadway,  while 
Julius  Kruttschnitt  has  got  to  go  back  on  the  U.  P.  and  level 
up  the  tracks.  While  still  in  their  nightmare,  they  look  up 
their  journals  and  see  the  pictures  of  the  "dips,"  and  when 
they  come  to  Wharton,  they  imagine  that  Ambassador  Page 


THE  NEW  AUTUMN  DRIVE  367 

is  out  of  place  in  London,  for  Wharton  should  be  there  and 
Franklin  should  build  the  new  roads  in  Alaska,  Ryan  should 
be  President  of  the  dear  old  U.  S.  A.,  and  William  Johnston 
in  a  circuit  preaching  peace  at  any  price.  And  that  is  just 
what  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  want  the  suckers  to  believe. 
They  know  what  kind  of  dope  to  feed  them — give  them  credit 
for  something,  for  they  were  sure  getting  away  with  it. 

THE  NEW  AUTUMN  DRIVE 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers,  like  some  wise  "me,"  made  their 
mistakes  and  spoiled  their  play  after  they  had  played  the  hard- 
est part  of  their  performance.  This  they  did  after  they  de- 
clared the  strikes  off,  for  they  got  away  with  this  without 
the  crowd  getting  wise,  but  fell  down  on  the  encore  when 
they  started  out  to  show  the  crowd  how  they  were  going  to 
put  Markham  back  on  the  coal  docks.  This  part  of  the  play 
was  even  amusing  to  Mr.  Markham  himself.  Imagine  Julius 
Kruttschnitt  sizing  up  the  boobs  from  his  desk  down  on 
Broadway,  while  this  part  of  the  performance  was  going  on. 

It  happened  something  like  this :  The  Grand  Lodge  officers 
got  together  in  a  real  federated  effort.  I  guess  they  realized 
that  they  had  to  federate  here  to  accomplish  their  purpose, 
so  they  organized  what  they  called  the  "Great  Autumn  Drive." 
H.  J.  Molloy,  who  had  been  business  agent  for  the  Machinists 
on  the  Illinois  Central,  one  of  the  ex-preachers  of  the  "all 
for  one,"  who  had  gone  over  the  lines  after  the  strike  and 
said  that  union  men  could  never  become  low  enough  to  asso- 
ciate with  strike-breakers,  was  now  delegated  to  make  a  drive 
on  all  the  bull-pens  on  the  Illinois  Central  with  a  squad  of 
representatives  from  the  other  organizations  and  tell  the  strike- 
breakers that  the  game  we  played  here  shortly  after  1911  was 
only  a  joke,  and  now  that  we  are  in  earnest,  you  strike-breakers 
can  join  our  church  for  a  dollar  and  a  half.  "You  see,  fellows, 
we  like  you  so  much  that  we  have  decided  to  make  you  boys 
special  concessions.  We  are  only  going  to  charge  you  a  dol- 


368  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

lar  and  a  half,  but  the  union  men  that  want  to  join  will  have 
to  pay  fifteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  and  up.  Now,  you  under- 
stand, that  you  are  getting  in  easy ;  we  figure  that  your  expe- 
rience as  strike-breakers  is  a  valuable  asset;  therefore,  the 
dollar  and  a  half  price  is  made  to  you  boys." 

Imagine  Molloy,  if  you  can,  working  on  his  new  prospects 
as  earnestly  as  an  agent  from  the  Continental  Casualty  Com- 
pany on  the  new  Italian  helper,  after  the  timekeeper  had  in- 
formed him  that  they  had  put  a  live  one  on  the  payroll  this 
morning. 

So  Molloy  continued  on  his  prospects,  even  upon  those  who 
first  went  to  work  for  the  Central  the  day  after  the  strike  was 
called. 

"You  see,  here  is  your  opportunity  to  be  a  brother  for 
a  dollar  and  a  half.  The  rough-necks  that  called  you  a  scab 
in  1911  are  all  gone  now.  Brother  Johnston  starved  them 
off  the  lines,  and  for  just  a  dollar  and  a  half  you  can  wear 
the  Iron  Cross,  and  the  other  union  brothers  that  you  have 
seen  up  in  the  barber  shop  will  call  you  brother.  Oh !  and  here, 
my  dear  friend,  you  will  also  get  the  'pass-word.'  That  is 
something  that  you  can  be  proud  of ;  the  secrets  that  we  have 
in  our  church  are  something  wonderful.  I  would  give  it  to 
you  now,  but  you  know  we  have  a  constitution,  so  that  I  have 
to  get  your  dollar  and  a  half  first." 

The  Prospect:  "Yes,  but  weren't  you  one  of  those  mean 
strikers,  too?" 

Molloy :  "Oh,  no !  I  was  a  paid  officer ;  you  understand, 
us  Grand  Lodge  officers,  whatever  we  did  in  that  strike,  we 
did  because  we  had  to,  not  because  we  wanted  to.  You  under- 
stand, my  dear  brother,  that  we  Grand  Lodge  officers  are  dif- 
ferent from  the  rest  of  them.  Oh,  so  much  different.  You 
will  surely  appreciate  this  after  you  give  me  your  dollar 
and  a  half.  Why,  us  fellows  are  regular  scouts." 

Prospect  (in  excitement) :  "Sh,  sh,  don't  talk  so  loud, 
stranger ;  there  is  the  boss  coming." 

Molloy :  "That's  all  right,  brother ;  we've  got  all  this  fixed 


THE  NEW  AUTUMN  DRIVE  369 

up.  Why,  don't  you  know  that  our  Grand  Chief  is  a  regular 
pal  of  the  President  of  this  road?  Yes;  and  I  tell  you,  that 
after  you  get  our  Iron  Cross  that  no  boss  will  tell  you  any- 
thing. Your  job  will  be  secure  with  this  company,  so  you 
should  give  me  your  dollar  and  a  half  now,  for  that  is  better 
protection  to  you  than  any  insurance  policy  ever  written." 

Prospect:  "Yes,  but  will  that  man  Ryan  ever  advise  us 
to  strike,  too  ?" 

Molloy :  "That  is  just  what  I  was  going  to  tell  you.  No, 
they  won't  do  anything  like  that  unless  they  think  it  is  advis- 
able. You  know,  big,  influential  men  like  Ryan  and  Johnston, 
they  give  advice  on  such  questions.  I  wish  you  could  meet 
Brothers  Ryan  and  Johnston.  Oh !  I  tell  you,  brothers,  they 
are  some  grand  old  boys,  and  as  soon  as  I  get  your  dollar 
and  a  half  and  send  it  in  to  them,  you  will  be  acquainted  with 
them.  Yes,  they  will  know  you  by  the  dollar  and  a  half 
that  you  give  them,  and  will  send  you  a  regular  little  book 
with  their  names  printed  on  it,  and  at  every  meeting  you 
go  to  you  will  hear  letters  of  welcome  and  good  cheer.  And, 
by  the  way,  brother,  you  know  they  are  big  men  and  do  a 
whole  lot  of  traveling,  and  when  they  come  through  on  this 
road  I  will  then  notify  you,  and  you  can  lay  off  and  go  down 
to  the  station  and  see  the  train  go  by  that  your  Grand  Chief 
is  on.  I  tell  you,  brother,  for  that  dollar  and  a  half  you  can 
get  more  than  anything  you  ever  got  before  in  your  life  for 
a  dollar  and  a  half." 

Prospect  (with  one  hand  on  the  reverse  lever  of  the  bor- 
ing mill) :  "But,  see  here,  stranger,  if  Ryan  should  think  it 
advisable  for  us  to  strike,  can  the  scab  that  takes  my  job 
join  your  church  for  a  dollar  and  a  half,  too?" 

Molloy :  "You  see,  brother,  that  is  a  secret.  Sh !  Sh !  You 
have  to  pay  a  dollar  and  a  half  to  find  this  out." 

Prospect :  "Yes,  but  a  dollar  and  a  half  is  a  whole  lot  of 
money  for  such  information,  and  I  tell  you,  stranger,  anybody 
that  takes  my  job  here  on  this  old  mill  that  I  run  now  for 
four  years,  after  I  am  advised  to  go  on  strike,  cannot  be  a 


370  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

brother  of  mine,  so  I  want  to  know  where  those  fine  fellows, 
Ryan,  Johnston,  Franklin  and  those  Grand  Chiefs  are  at  be- 
fore I  spend  a  dollar  and  a  half." 

Molloy :  "My  dear  brother,  they  are  all  over  the  country ; 
sometimes  in  Washington,  and  sometimes  in  Kansas  City,  and 
sometimes  they  go  to  Atlantic  City  to  rest  up." 

Prospect :  "Oh,  excuse  me,  stranger ;  I  want  to  know  where 
they  are  at  on  that  strike  advice  of  theirs.  Do  they  jump 
around  and  change  their  advice  from  time  to  time,  just  like 
they  do  their  location?" 

Molloy :  "Oh,  I  know  what  you  have  done.  I  bet  you  have 
seen  a  copy  of  that  unauthorized  Strike  Bulletin.  Why,  don't 
you  know  that  Ryan,  Johnston  and  Wharton  have  put  that 
out  of  business?  Just  to  show  you  what  big  men  they  were, 
yes,  siree,  they  wrote  to  the  brothers  all  over  the  country  and 
told  the  dear  brothers  (you  know  the  same  brothers  that  you 
can  be  a  brother  to  for  a  dollar  and  a  half)  not  to  read  it 
because  they,  the  Grand  Chiefs,  didn't  like  it.  Say,  by  gosh, 
brother,  you  know  that  after  that  time  the  brothers  wouldn't 
read  it.  Why,  you  know  such  grand  men  as  the  Grand  Chiefs 
wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  those  strikers,  for  they 
asked  too  many  questions." 

Prospect:  "Well,  see  here,  stranger,  I  never  read  the 
Strike  Bulletin;  one  of  the  boys  had  found  one  of  them  papers 
one  day,  and  the  boss  called  us  all  together,  and  Tool-room 
Slim  got  a  sheet-iron  and  put  on  the  floor  and  then  that 
paper  was  burned  while  we  all  stood  around  and  the  boss 
made  a  fine  speech  on  loyalty  to  the  company,  and  said  that 
the  company  was  going  to  stand  with  the  boys,  and  I  guess 
they  are  right.  They  have  sure  stuck  with  us  now  for  four 
years,  and  what  I  would  like  to  know  is,  will  this  man  Ryan 
and  Johnston  stick  with  me  after  I  get  the  Iron  Cross  like 
the  company  has  stood  with  us  fellows  that  those  mean  strikers 
called  scabs?" 

Molloy :  "You  see,  my  dear  fellow,  we  have  a  constitution, 
as  you  will  find  out  after  I  get  your  dollar  and  a  half,  and  that 


THE  NEW  AUTUMN  DRIVE  371 

constitution  changes  when  the  Grand  Chiefs  think  it  is  advis- 
able to  advise  the  change.  That  is,  they  interpret  its  meaning 
today,  and,  if  advisable,  advise  a  different  interpretation  in 
the  future." 

Prospect :  "Oh,  then  if  Ryan  should  advise  me  to  strike,  and 
I  went  on  strike,  and  in  a  little  while  Ryan  would  deem  it 
advisable  to  advise  me  that  I  was  ill  advised — " 

Molloy :  "Here,  here,  my  dear  fellow,  that  is  unauthorized 
and  uncalled  for — " 

Prospect :  "Yes,  stranger ;  but  you  interrupted  me.  What 
I  want  to  know  is  where  in  the  h — 1  are  those  fellows  at  on  their 
advice?" 

Molloy :  "By  gosh !  that's  a  new  one  on  me.  I  will  write 
to  Ryan,  Johnston  and  Franklin  and  the  rest  of  the  chiefs 
on  that  matter  tonight  and  will  get  an  interpretation  from 
Chief  Justice  Wharton;  so,  good-bye,  brother;  I  hope  that 
you  will  be  one  of  us  some  day.  Good-bye,  good-bye." 

This  was  the  part  of  the  autumn  drive  that  was  being 
played.  Another  squad  of  them  made  the  Union  Pacific  and 
the  Southern  Pacific,  as  well  as  all  Harriman  Lines.  Business 
Agent  Webster  of  the  Machinists  made  a  flying  trip  on  the 
Harriman  Lines,  playing  the  same  part  as  our  friend  Molloy 
played  on  the  Central,  and,  of  course,  assisted  by  representa- 
tives of  most  all  the  other  crafts.  Here  is  a  statement  worthy 
of  mention,  written  by  Wm.  Hannon,  Vice  President  of  the 
Machinists ;  he  was  on  the  Pacific  Lines  until  Johnston  thought 
!he  was  not  helping  him  in  letting  the  movement  "peter  out," 
and  so  he  was  removed  like  "Peck's  bad  boy,"  but  by  some 
accident  he  drove  back  to  one  of  the  points  that  had  been  on 
strike  three  months  after  the  strike  had  been  called  off,  and 
in  the  fourth  month,  which  was  October,  1915,  he  mentions 
in  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  October,  1915,  page  908,  in 
which  he  says : 

While  here  in  Frisco  I  met  General  Organizer  Webster,  who  had  come 
from  Evanston,  Wyo.  Brother  Webster  has  been  traveling  over  the 
Union  Pacific,  the  Oregon  Short  Line  and  the  Southern  Pacific  Lines, 


372  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

handling  some  business  in  connection  with  the  strike.  At  his  request, 
I  went  with  him  to  the  General  Officers  of  the  S.  P.  and  attempted  to 
get  a  conference  with  General  Manager  Scott,  but  we  could  get  none. 

Mr.  Hannon's  article  further  went  on  to  explain  that  Mr. 
Scott's  chief  clerk  informed  them  that  the  company  was  very 
bitter  against  the  strikers  and  would  not  put  them  back  to 
work.  Then  Mr.  John  Scott,  Secretary  of  the  Railway  De- 
partment, in  his  letter  of  July  24,  1915,  tried  to  build  up  a 
fence  for  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  by  stating  that  the  strike 
was  declared  off  on  account  of  the  statement  made  by  Mr. 
Markham  of  the  Illinois  Central  before  the  Commission,  that 
the  companies  had  nothing  against  the  strikers,  and  that  they 
were  a  bunch  of  fine  fellows.  Then  came  Hannon,  in  October, 
1915,  and  tells  the  truth,  which  wrecks  the  arguments  made 
by  Secretary  Scott,  in  his  letter  of  July  24,  1915.  In  this 
he  further  states: 

"We  must  assume  that  Mr.  Markham  was  sincere  in  what 
he  said,  and  can  only  determine  to  what  extent  his  policy  will 
be  put  into  practice  by  accepting  the  terms  offered." 

And  so  the  strike  was  declared  off  on  the  "terms  offered" 
by  Mr.  Markham — "that  he  had  nothing  against  the  strikers." 
Do  they  expect  people  who  have  seen  real  street  cars,  and 
been  to  county  fairs,  and  funerals,  played  hookey  from  Sun- 
day School,  or  took  a  bath  occasionally  down  in  the  river 
bend,  to  believe  this  bunk? 

When  the  autumn  drive,  which  was  the  great  encore  of 
the  main  part  of  this  drama,  was  over,  these  people  found  out 
that  even  the  scabs  did  not  have  enough  confidence  in  them 
to  join  their  church.  That  is  the  part  they  fell  down  on. 
For  this  was  the  great  coming  promise.  They  played  this 
up  as  they  did  the  cause  of  federation  in  1911.  This  part  of 
it  was  the  second  child  of  their  new  brotherhood.  The  first  one, 
born  in  1911,  was  the  Federation,  and  when  it  was  discovered 
that  there  was  a  chance  for  them  to  get  another  kid  to  play 
with,  they  poisoned  their  first  child  to  give  their  second  one 
all  the  milk  available.  And  when  they  announced  on  May  24, 


THE  NEW  AUTUMN  DRIVE  373 

1915,  the  date  of  June  28,  1915,  as  the  set  and  expected  date 
for  the  arrival  of  the  new  kid,  there  was  some  cherished  and 
parental  happiness  in  the  chambers  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment. 

They  did  the  best  they  could  to  give  the  new  kid  a  chance 
to  live,  but,  after  three  or  four  months,  Webster,  Molloy 
and  their  associate  nurses  came  back  home  exhausted  and  gave 
up  in  despair.  And,  of  course,  those  grand  old  men,  Mr. 
Markham  and  Mr.  Julius  Kruttschnitt,  overlooked  the  im- 
portance of  sending  their  Red  Cross  trains  of  assistance  to  the 
flying  squadron  in  their  autumn  drive.  They  were  too  busy 
on  Broadway  and  Park  Row  telling  about  the  fun  they  had 
with  regular  labor  leaders  (fellows  who  write  constitutions 
and  interpret  them),  and  how  they  soft-soaped  them  with  a 
promise.  While  even  though  the  great  cause  of  labor  was 
sacrificed  here,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  cost 
the  railroad  companies  something  else  but  a  "promise."  This, 
of  course,  Mr.  Markham  and  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  never  men- 
tion when  they  tell  the  joke  to  their  friends. 


PART  V 

THE  SECRET  SESSION  OF  JIM  KLINE'S 
TRIAL  DURING  THE  1916  CON- 
VENTION OF  THE  RAILWAY  DE- 
PARTMENT AT  KANSAS  CITY,  MO., 
AND  THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE 
RECORDS. 

JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY 

LET  us  look  into  a  part  of  the  proceedings  that  came  to 
the  surface  after  the  strike  had  been  declared  off — a 
condition  of  affairs  that  I  was  fully  aware  of  in  that 
part  of  1912,  when  Jack  Buckalew  came  to  Clinton  with  his 
district  and  the  war  cabinet  of  District  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  was 
organized.  I  realized  then  that  the  strikers  were  being 
trimmed  by  our  own  Grand  Lodge  officers.  In  fact,  I  realized 
that  there  was  a  well-laid  plan  to  trim  the  strikers  from  the 
very  inception  of  the  strike.  Having  read  this  story  from  the 
beginning,  you  understand  this.  Because  I  realized  this  con- 
dition of  affairs  existed,  I  was  forced  to  play  my  part  in  such 
a  way  at  times  that  even  the  men  on  strike  did  not  approve  of 
my  methods.  Their  disapproval  was  because  they  were  igno- 
rant of  the  knowledge  I  had.  Had  they  been  able  to  size  up 
the  situation  as  I  had  the  opportunity  to  do,  and  made  it  my 
business  to  do,  they  would  have  approved  of  my  methods. 
They  would  have  favored  at  times  methods  more  radical  than 
those  I  instituted.  Regrettable  as  it  may  seem,  some  of  our 
people  did  not  surmise  that  there  was  anything  wrong  until 
the  day  of  the  announcement  that  the  strikes  were  called  off. 
Then  the  resolutions  came  thick  and  fast,  but  then  it  was  too 

375 


376  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

late,  for  the  sharpers  had  pulled  off  the  show,  and  when  the 
sleepy,  easy-going  crowd  woke  up  there  was  no  one  to  resolute 
over  but  themselves  for  going  to  sleep  on  the  job. 

During  the  strike  we  had  one  friend  among  the  Grand 
Lodge  Presidents — that  was  J.  W.  Kline,  of  the  Blacksmiths. 
He  always  had  a  word  of  cheer  for  the  men  on  the  line.  We 
could  write  him  a  letter  and  get  an  answer.  The  strikers  at 
Burnside,  where  the  Illinois  Central  shops  in  Chicago  were 
located,  could  always  go  to  Mr.  Kline  and  talk  the  situation 
over,  and  use  his  offices  for  anything  in  the  interest  of  the 
strike.  He  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  general  strike  at 
the  Kansas  City  convention  in  1914.  He  supported  the  strik- 
ers on  anything  they  wanted  and  were  after  in  the  interest 
of  the  strike.  During  the  time  the  Strike  Bulletin  was  being 
persecuted  and  served  with  injunction  after  injunction  by  the 
Railway  Department,  he  voted  against  such  action  being  taken. 
When  strike  benefits  were  declared  off  in  October,  1914,  by  the 
Railway  Department,  Mr.  Kline  voted  against  it  and  served 
notice  on  the  Department  that  he  would  continue  to  pay  his 
men  on  the  line  as  long  as  the  strike  was  on.  When  the  vote 
was  taken  in  May,  1915,  to  declare  the  strike  off,  he  voted 
against  such  action  being  taken,  and  submitted  the  decision  of 
the  Railway  Department  to  the  rank  and  file  of  his  member- 
ship through  a  referendum. 

Naturally,  Mr.  Kline  was  considered  an  outlaw  by  the  rest 
of  the  members  of  the  council  because  of  the  fact  that  he 
wouldn't  "go  along"  with  them  in  their  methods  of  handling 
the  strike.  On  June  29,  1915,  he  wrote  the  following  letter 
to  his  Business  Agents  and  Vice  Presidents: 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  June  29,  1915. 
To  THE  VICE  PRESIDENTS  AND  BUSINESS  AGENTS. 

Dear  Sirs  and  Brothers:  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment by  majority  vote,  the  strike  was  called  off  on  the  Illinois  Central, 
Pere  Marquette  and  Harriman  Lines.  President  Franklin  of  the  Boiler- 
makers and  myself  voted  against  calling  it  off  for  the  reason  that  we 
insisted  on  giving  the  rank  and  file  a  chance  to  vote  on  it.  However, 
we  decided  as  it  was  a  majority  vote  in  the  Department  to  place  the 
matter  up  to  our  General  Executive  Boards,  and  if  they  allowed  us  to 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      377 

do  so,  we  would  send  the  letter  with  our  names  attached,  but  they  de- 
cided otherwise,  and  we  withdrew  our  names  from  that  Department 
circular. 

I  have  sent  to  each  of  you  a  copy  of  the  circular  letter  with  ballots. 
However,  the  impression  seems  to  prevail,  and  it  has  gotten  into  the 
papers  that  the  strike  is  called  off,  and  so  it  is,  as  far  as  the  Machinists, 
Carmen  and  Sheet  Metal  Workers  are  concerned,  but  the  Blacksmiths 
and  Boilermakers  are  voting,  and  I  cannot  inform  you  until  I  get  the 
result  of  the  ballot.  The  Boilermakers  are  in  the  same  position. 

I  am  writing  this  letter  so  that  you  will  be  able  to  talk  intelligently 
to  anyone  who  asks  you. 

I  understand  there  will  be  a  demand  for  investigation.  No  one 
will  welcome  it  more  than  the  undersigned. 

Why  the  three  crafts  could  not  wait  for  another  two  or  three 
weeks  until  we  were  all  ready  to  act  before  they  sent  out  their  let- 
ter, is  more  than  I  can  understand,  unless  it's  a  scheme  to  influence  the 
vote  of  the  Blacksmiths  and  Boilermakers. 

I  have  stood  all  the  way  through  this  strike  for  a  referendum  when 
it  came  to  calling  off  this  strike.  The  Machinists'  General  Executive 
Board  voted  to  call  it  off  two,  three  or  four  months  ago.  The  Carmen 
and  Sheet  Metal  Workers  practically  did  the  same. 

There  are  already  charges  of  a  sell-out.  To  that,  I  may  say  that  the 
money  was  there  all  right,  if  they  could  find  anyone  to  take  it.  I  had 
the  chance  myself  at  one  time,  and  I  know  if  they  would  give  it  to  me, 
they  would  give  it  to  others.  Of  course,  we  have  the  right  to  expect 
that  one  general  officer  is  just  as  honest  as  another  in  that  respect,  and 
I  make  no  charge.  But  I  am  saying  that  if  an  investigation  is  brought 
about,  those  questions  would  be  asked.  I  understand  by  some  one  in 
the  West  that  they  have  some  very  dangerous  information.  I  would 
be  glad  to  have  it  brought  out,  and  let  us  see  where  we  are  at,  and  if 
there  are  any  crooks  in  the  movement  we  had  better  know  it. 

I  have  a  letter  in  my  possession,  written  by  a  member  of  the 
Machinists'  Executive  Board,  stating  that  President  Johnston  has  been 
giving  permission  to  machinists  to  go  back  to  work.  I  was  also  told 
by  machinists  in  my  office  that  a  letter  came  to  Chicago  a  month  or  two 
ago  asking  them  why  they  didn't  go  back  to  work  instead  of  asking 
for  more  money  from  their  general  officers. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  our  being  trimmed,  but  I  claim  that  the 
general  officers  are  responsible  for  the  trimming.  I  will  issue  a  circular 
letter  with  the  results  of  the  vote  as  soon  as  I  get  them. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     J.  W.  KLINE,  President. 

Mr.  Kline's  letter  carries  several  important  statements, 
one  in  which  he  states :  "/  may  say  that  the  money  was  there 
all  right.  I  had  the  chance  myself  at  one  time,  and  I  know 
if  they  -would  give  it  to  me  they  would  give  it  to  others." 

The  above  letter  puts  a  new  light  on  our  story,  and  it  will 
be  well  to  remember  that  this  statement  does  not  come  from 


378  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

one  of  the  "irresponsible  strikers"  or  someone  that  has  simply 
formed  an  opinion  from  sitting  down  in  the  desert  some  place, 
watching  the  show.  This  is  a  statement  made  by  an  Interna- 
tional President,  whose  organization  is  affiliated  with  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  the  Metal  Trades,  and  the 
Railway  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  Therefore,  Mr. 
Kline's  statement  merits  some  consideration. 

There  is  another  portion  of  Mr.  Kline's  letter  to  his  Vice 
Presidents  and  Business  Agents  that  is  more  than  interesting, 
and  that  is  the  last  paragraph  of  the  letter  in  which  Mr. 
Kline  states :  "There  is  no  doubt  about  our  being  trimmed,  but 
I  claim  that  the  general  officers  are  responsible  for  the  trim- 
ming." 

This  was  a  common  assertion  by  the  correspondents  of  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  but  this  comes  from  Mr.  Kline,  a  member  of 
the  council  of  the  Railway  Department,  a  man  who  knew  what 
was  going  on,  "on  the  inside."  And  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  Mr.  Kline  knew  what  he  was  talking  about, 
for  a  man  in  his  position  cannot  afford  to  talk  at  random 
on  a  subject  of  such  importance.  Mr.  Kline  was  the  chairman 
of  the  general  officers  at  the  time  the  strike  was  called,  and 
in  conference  in  Frisco  with  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  and  his  legal 
council.  Therefore,  there  was  but  little  going  on  among  the 
general  officers  that  he  was  not  familiar  with.  He  remained 
as  chairman  until  the  first  Kansas  City  convention  of  the  De- 
partment in  1912,  and  was  in  a  position  to  not  only  judge 
matters  from  its  different  standpoints,  but  he  was  in  a  position 
to  actually  know  the  facts  of  the  situation,  and  decided  in 
accordance  with  what  he  had  discovered  and  what  he  knew 
as  actual  facts  when  he  made  the  declaration  that  the  money 
was  there  for  any  one  that  would  take  it,  and  that  the  strikers 
had  been  trimmed  by  the  general  officers. 

There  was  only  one  thing  for  the  Railway  Department 
to  do  after  Mr.  Kline  had  made  his  declarations,  and  that 
was  to  prefer  charges  against  him  or  stand  convicted  upon 
his  declarations.  Mr.  W.  H.  Johnston,  President  of  the 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      379 

Machinists,  was  picked  to  prefer  the  charges  against  Mr.  Kline 
through  the  Railroad  Department,  which  he  did  in  a  letter 
dated  at  Washington,  September  2,  1915.  In  this  letter  he 
challenged  Mr.  Kline  to  prove  the  statements,  and  further 
stated  that  he  wouldn't  associate  with  him  because  he  had 
ruined  the  reputation  and  character  of  his  fellow  officers. 
Reputations  were  considered  very  valuable  now  by  Mr.  John- 
ston, but  little  did  he  concern  himself  when  he  made  an  effort 
to  wreck  and  ruin  the  reputation  of  strikers  during  the  strike 
by  calling  them  grafters  because  they  occasionally  arranged 
entertainments  to  help  along,  while  strike  benefits  were  being 
confiscated. 

Mr.  Johnston  generally  talked  at  random  concerning  the 
strikers,  and  was  never  in  a  position  to  substantiate  any  of  the 
assertions  and  criticism  that  he  so  profusely  showered  upon 
them.  Now  that  his  own  reputation  had  been  brought  in  ques- 
tion, he  wanted  the  protection  of  the  constitution  and  all  the 
legal  strings  that  were  wrapped  around  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment. In  insisting  on  this,  however,  Mr.  Johnston  made  an- 
other of  the  many  blunders  that  has  stamped  themselves  upon 
his  office  record,  for  Mr.  Kline  was  well  in  a  position  to  sub- 
stantiate all  that  which  he  said  and  declared,  with  documentary 
evidence  and  otherwise,  and  the  further  Mr.  Johnston  pro- 
ceeded, the  deeper  he  got  himself  and  associates  into  it,  and 
the  more  information  the  strikers  were  given  concerning  the 
secrets  of  the  "inner  circle"  and  its  shady  methods,  the  more 
evidence  they  had  to  convince  the  skeptics  and  convict  the 
traitors  with.  So,  while  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  were  throw- 
ing mud  at  each  other,  insinuating  that  the  "spoils  were  there 
for  those  that  wanted  to  take  it,"  the  victims  were  singing 
God  speed  the  investigation. 

John  Scott,  Secretary  of  the  Railway  Department,  in  his 
letter  of  July  24,  1915,  said  that  the  strike  was  declared  off 
on  the  promise  of  Mr.  Markham  that  he  did  not  have  anything 
against  the  strikers.  But  we  have  now  arrived  at  a  point 
where  it  looks  as  if  there  must  have  been  some  other  induce- 


380  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

ment  for  declaring  the  strike  off  than  a  mere  "promise."  Or 
what  does  Mr.  Kline  mean  in  his  statement,  "that  the  money 
was  there."  Of  course,  when  the  strikers  had  John  Scott  elected 
at  the  convention  in  1912,  they  thought  that  this  would  be  a 
fine  place  for  a  striker;  for,  being  a  striker,  he  would  surely 
"tip  the  boys  off"  when  there  was  danger  of  anyone  profiting 
by  their  misfortune.  But  maybe  John  Scott  was  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  have  the  information  that  Mr.  Kline  had  when  he  wrote 
his  letter  on  June  29,  1915,  or  the  company  he  had  been  keep- 
ing as  Secretary  of  the  Department  had  also  led  John  Scott 
astray. 

It  would,  indeed,  have  been  a  misfortune  to  the  men  who 
went  through  this  long  strike,  and  the  labor  movement  in 
general,  had  this  case  been  dismissed  in  Frisco,  for  the  trial 
eventually  came  up,  and  when  it  did,  there  were  several  skele- 
tons pulled  out  of  the  closets. 

After  the  strike  was  called  off,  I  bid  farewell  to  my  village 
home  and  sang  my  valediction  to  the  little  "Rebel  Nest,"  where 
I  had  so  often  spent  the  hours  that  intrude  upon  the  dawn 
and  moved  to  the  metropolis  for  a  Clark  Street  education. 
One  morning,  while  out  taking  my  exercise  in  sky-scraper  gaz- 
ing, a  gentleman  caught  me  by  the  shoulder  and  pulled  me  in 
from  the  danger  line  of  the  fast  moving  crowd,  and,  as  he 
jerked  me  in,  he  said,  "You're  that  kid  from  Clinton,  aren't 
you?" 

"From  no  place  in  particular,"  I  said,  and  thought,  "My 
God !  here  I'm  pinched  again." 

"Your  name  is  Carl  Person,  isn't  it?"  he  said,  in  a  voice 
that  sounded  like  the  State  Street  policeman  as  he  backs  the 
Fords  from  the  dead-line. 

"Well,  slip  'em  on,  Dick,"  I  said ;  "I'll  go  along ;  there  is 
no  chance  to  beat  the  Bertillion  system,  any  way."  And  then 
the  stranger  laughed,  and  I  at  once  realized  that  it  was  Big 
Jim  Kline,  of  the  Blacksmiths,  and  added,  "Why,  I  thought 
I  was  pinched  again.  And  did  the  strike  put  you  on  the  street, 
too,  Jim?" 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      381 

Kline :  "I'm  still  down  here,  but  they're  trying  to  put  me 
in  the  air." 

"Who,  the  guys  that  played  the  lizard's  trail?"  was  my 
reply. 

Kline:  "It's  worse  than  that,  my  boy." 

"Oh,  I  know ;  but  you  see  the  more  the  mob  gets  it  rubbed 
into  them,  the  better  they  seem  to  like  it,  and  please  don't  talk 
about  it,  Jim.  I  am  trying  hard  to  forget  it,  and  that's  why 
I  came  down  from  the  clouds  to  mingle  here  with  the  crowd." 

"This  is  no  time  for  me  to  forget  it,"  said  Kline,  "for  you 
know  they've,  got  me  pinched  for  making  a  statement  to  our 
Business  Agents  that  you  boys  were  trimmed  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers,  and  I'm  on  my  way  to  Canal  Street  now  to 
get  a  train  for  Kansas  City,  where  my  trial  comes  up  next 
week." 

"That's  right,  Jim ;  this  is  no  time  forget  it,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied now  that  what  John  Scott  told  me  was  the  truth — 
that  you  always  defended  the  boys  on  strike  at  the  council 
meetings  in  the  Department — and  the  virtue  of  our  little  Strike 
Bulletin,  when  the  other  members  of  the  council  were  making 
defamatory  and  slurring  remarks  upon  her  reputation;  you 
knew  that  she  was  someone's  sister,  too,  like  the  real  man  in 
the  bar-room  when  the  soaks  amused  themselves  trying  to  wreck 
the  reputation  of  the  girl  next  door." 

Said  Kline :  "Well,  the  convention  is  on  next  week.  Come 
down,  if  you  can." 

"Me,  Jim,  come  down  there  ?" 

Kline:  "Yes;  you  know  a  little  aoout  the  trimming  you 
boys  got  during  the  strike,  don't  you  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  a  little ;  but  you  know,  Jim,  all  those  swells  from 
Washington  will  be  there,  and  I  bet  my  friend  Ryan  will  be 
there  dressed  in  that  same  fine  coat  that  got  him  the  applause 
from  the  Machinists'  convention  in  1911.  Besides,  I  haven't 
got  a  white  vest,  and  here  I  am  carrying  all  the  dust  from  the 
Harrison  Street  Station  to  the  river  on  my  jeans,  and  the 
emblems  of  the  soup  houses  since  I  drove  into  town  have  pene- 


382  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

trated  my  necktie  and  made  the  starboard  side  of  my  vest  look 
like  the  beanery  garbage  cans  on  South  Halsted  Street." 

Kline :  "Cut  the  apology,  my  boy ;  you'll  do.  You're  not 
expected  to  be  brushed  up ;  they  know  that  you've  done  time, 
and  birds  are  not  expected  to  be  polished  up.  I'd  like  to  see 
you  down  there." 

"If  I  can  shake  up  the  funds  for  the  trip,  Jim,  I'll  drive 
in  for  Wednesday." 

"Yes,"  said  Kline.    "Good-bye,  kid ;  be  down  if  you  can." 

Big  Jim  Kline  pulled  up  his  luggage  and  started  down 
Adams  Street  for  the  station.  He  looked  just  like  an  old- 
fashioned  blacksmith  changing  boarding  houses,  carrying  his 
library  in  his  pockets,  and  his  personal  assets  in  his  hand-vise, 
and  as  I  gave  him  the  last  look  when  he  disappeared  in  the 
crowd,  I  thought  of  the  by-gone  days  when  I,  too,  had  been 
indicted  by  the  "dips"  for  being  irresponsible  enough  to  ques- 
tion the  whys  and  the  wherefores  of  all  this. 

Wednesday  morning,  the  13th,  I  arrived  in  Kansas  City, 
Mo.  Went  to  the  Labor  Temple,  where  the  convention  was 
in  session,  and  took  a  seat  in  the  courtroom.  Here  I  was 
politely  informed  that  my  presence  was  considered  intrusive, 
and  that  membership  of  credentials  were  necessary  for  any- 
one that  wished  to  sit  there  and  drink  from  the  pleasant  foun- 
tains of  unlimited  knowledge  that  gushed  forth  from  the  trib- 
utaries of  this  notable  court.  Like  the  Roman  amphitheater 
of  old,  the  mystic  sign  was  a  necessary  adjunct,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  at  the  previous  convention  Superior 
Judge  Wharton  insisted  that  the  doors  be  thrown  open  to 
everybody  who  wanted  a  seat  in  the  galleries. 

Not  finding  it  a  pleasant  occupation  sitting  around  in 
the  annex  that  led  into  the  high  court,  I  returned  to  the  busy 
streets  of  the  city. 

I  stepped  into  the  annex  of  the  court-room  in  due  time 
Thursday  morning  and  met  some  of  the  delegates  who  were 
there  participating  in  the  convention.  Some  of  them  I  had 
never  met  before,  but  they  expressed  themselves  as  receiving 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      383 

several  letters  from  me  during  the  time  I  managed  the  "Rebel 
Nest."  I  had  met  some  of  the  delegates  who  were  there,  and 
passed  a  word  or  two  with  them,  in  which  the  consensus  of  opin- 
ion was  that  Jim  Kline  was  up  against  a  hard  proposition,  and 
they  regarded  the  case  as  one  of  much  importance.  While 
others  gathered  together  and  whispered  among  themselves,  that 
they  had  it  rumored  around  that  I  did  time  "on  the  river,"  and 
naturally  I  received  that  look  of  unwelcomeness  that  the  aver- 
age convict  does  when  leaving  Sing  Sing.  Jim  Kline  came 
to  the  door  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  court,  and  informed 
me  to  be  patient  if  I  could,  for  I  would  be  called  in  before 
very  long. 

While  still  waiting  and  resting  myself  against  an  unoccu- 
pied radiator,  near  the  Annex  window,  I  fully  realized  that  the 
honorable  court  was  in  session,  for  the  echoes  of  sweet  melo- 
dies that  sounded  like  the  voice  of  a  roundhouse  foreman  rav- 
ing upon  his  half-mile  race  track  after  he  had  been  informed 
by  the  dispatcher  that  the  engine  that  went  out  on  the  limited 
died  three  miles  out  of  the  city  limit  switch,  with  the  General 
Manager's  special  car  attached.  Yes,  there  were  penetrating 
evidences  coming  from  the  inner  chambers  that  there  was  some- 
thing wrong  with  the  steam  roller,  some  place,  and  as  I  stood 
there  and  drank  up  the  escaping  information  with  much  re- 
joicing, I  resolved  to  make  a  prayer,  a  prayer  that  would 
enable  me  to  generate  all  the  crudeness  and  viciousness  that  a 
strike  itself  generates,  and  at  this  time,  which  would  probably 
be  my  last  chance  to  sing  the  song  of  discontent  and  deprecia- 
tion to  those  who  so  successfully  murdered  that  cause,  that 
thousands  of  men  sacrificed  their  all  for,  to  make  it  to  those 
lizards  that  robbed  the  honest  man  of  his  principles  and  the 
dreamers  of  their  ideals. 

Here  came  the  bailiff  to  the  door.  If  Carl  Person  is  in 
the  Annex  he  shall  come  forth.  And  I  came  and  was  marched 
to  the  altars  and  directed  to  be  seated. 

Mr.  Wharton,  President  of  the  department,  had  surren- 
dered the  chair  by  a  motion  of  the  Blacksmiths'  delegation  to 


384  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  J.  P.  Noonan,  a  representative  of 
the  Electrical  Workers,  so  that  he  could  assume  the  part  of 
chief  and  directing  counsel  for  the  prosecution.  As  I  remem- 
ber it,  the  proceedings  were  something  like  this. 

Mr.  Kline :  If  the  court  please,  your  honor,  I  wish  to  first 
be  tried  on  indictment  number  two,  which  charges  me  with 
declaring  that  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikers 
were  "trimmed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers." 

The  Court :  I  instruct  the  clerk  to  read  the  charges  against 
the  defendant,  Mr.  Kline. 

The  Clerk  (reading) :  The  first  charge  that  defendant 
Kline  is  indicted  on  is  for  making  the  following  statement: 
"I  may  say  that  the  money  was  there  all  right  for  anyone  that 
would  take  it.  I  had  the  chance  myself  at  one  time,  and  I  know 
if  they  would  give  it  to  me  they  would  give  it  to  others." 

Clerk  (again  reading)  :  The  second  indictment  against 
the  defendant,  Kline,  is  that  for  making  the  following  state- 
ment: "There  is  no  doubt  about  our  being  trimmed,  but  I 
claim  that  the  general  officers  are  responsible  for  the  trimming." 

The  Court:  If  there  are  no  objections  from  the  opposing 
counsel,  the  plea  of  the  defendant  shall  be  granted. 

No  objection. 

The  Court  therefore  orders  that  indictment  number  two 
shall  be  the  first  case  on  the  docket  and  is  so  ordered. 

The  Court:  Preliminary  arguments  from  both  sides  hav- 
ing been  heard  yesterday  afternoon,  the  defendant's  counsel 
has  now  the  privilege  of  proceeding. 

The  Defendant:  If  it  may  please  your  honor  the  court, 
I  wish  to  place  Carl  Person  on  the  stand  as  a  witness.  Person 
is  a  striker  who  went  out  on  the  30th  day  of  September  and 
was  elected  by  the  strikers  as  Assistant  Strike  Secretary  for 
District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  and  worked  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  Mr.  Jack  Buckalew,  Vice  President  of  the  I.  A. 
of  M.,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  1912  was  elected  by  the  Illinois 
Central  System  Federation  as  their  Strike  Secretary.  He  was 
the  authorized  publicity  agent  of  the  strikers  and  editor  of 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY       385 

their  paper,  the  Strike  Bulletin.  A  man  who  has  served  the 
strikers  in  every  capacity  from  business  manager  to  an  occu- 
pant of  the  jail-house,  Person  is  fully  familiar  with  the  entire 
situation.  There  is  no  man  that  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
strike  who  knows  the  strike  conditions  and  the  developments 
during  the  strike  any  better  than  the  defendant's  witness,  Carl 
Person.  He  has  been  arrested  fourteen  times  on  charges  of 
everything  from  criminal  libel  to  murder  in  the  first  degree, 
and  I  pray  your  honor  that  Person  be  given  every  available 
opportunity  to  go  over  the  entire  situation,  that  this  large  and 
intelligent  jury,  who  have  come  here  from  all  four  corners  of 
the  continent,  may  leave  this  courtroom  having  received  from 
this  witness  that  knowledge  that  is  so  necessary  to  render  a 
just  decision  on  the  charge  against  the  defendant.  I  am  pro- 
foundly satisfied  that  his  honor,  the  court,  will  in  his  unbiased 
judgment  come  to  the  realization  of  the  necessity  in  giving  this 
witness  the  opportunity  of  telling  this  gruesome  story  as  he, 
and  only  he,  knows  it  and  can  tell  it.  For  by  this  witness  the 
defendant  hopes  to  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  my  distin- 
guished friends,  the  jury,  that  when  the  history  of  the  labor 
nfovement  is  recorded,  imbecility,  assumption  of  authority,  de- 
ception and  falsehood  will  be  written  across  the  pages  of  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike.  With  the  testi- 
mony of  Carl  Person,  and  along  with  the  evidence  the  defend- 
ant will  produce,  we  are  sure  this  intelligent  jury  will  decide 
that  the  strikers  were  trimmed,  and  I  say  "trimmed  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers,"  who  in  all  the  weakness  of  a  child  did 
not  have  the  courage  to  shoulder  the  responsibility  of  their 
own  mismanagements,  but  with  the  weakness  of  a  babe  and  the 
cowardice  of  a  traitor  came  forth  and  buried  the  carcass  of  that 
elephant  that  they  rode  upon  the  highways  and  byways  of 
this  country  during  the  popular  days  of  1911,  in  the  front 
yards  of  the  soldiers  that  stood  and  fell  in  the  trenches. 

I  say  to  your  honor,  and  the  distinguished  and  intelligent 
members  of  this  jury,  that,  like  the  wayward  girl  who  laid 
her  new-born  babe  upon  the  strange  cottage  door  and  after  it 


386  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

was  nourished  and  fed  stole  back  in  the  darkness  of  the  night 
and  murdered  it,  and  then  buried  it  in  the  front  yard  of  those 
who  loved  it  most,  so,  too,  these  Grand  Lodge  officers  came 
and  laid  their  new-born  babe,  the  Federation,  before  the  cot- 
tage doors  of  thousands  of  families,  and  after  they  had  taken  it 
in,  fed  it  and  nourished  it,  these  Grand  Lodge  officers,  like  the 
wayward  girl,  came  back  in  the  dark  hours  of  the  night,  when 
the  inhabitants  of  these  cottages  were  unaware  of  danger,  the 
danger  of  the  intruder  who  operates  when  the  stars  shine  dim. 
Then  they,  too,  murdered  the  babe  that  was  most  loved  by  the 
soldiers ;  and  I  say,  gentlemen  of  this  jury,  they  dug  graves  in 
the  soldiers'  front  yards  and  buried  it  there,  so  that  the  poor 
soldiers,  who  fought  and  fell  and  now  stand  in  the  shadow  of 
rags  and  poverty,  would  be  convicted  for  that  nefarious  crime 
that  was  engineered  and  committed  by  these  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  who  are  here  prosecuting  the  defendant.  I  reiterate 
to  your  honor,  the  court,  and  this  responsible  jury,  that  by 
the  defendant's  witness,  Carl  Person,  we  shall  establish  our 
case  of  not  guilty  and  prove  by  the  most  searching  investiga- 
tion to  the  modern  thinkers  of  this  jury  that  although  the 
defendant  was  associated  with  these  criminals  he  was  not  aware 
of  the  fact  that  their  motives  were  so  impure  that  they  would 
steal  up  to  the  cottage  door  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  and 
murder  their  own  offspring  that  they  were  too  cowardly  to 
raise,  and  then  bury  it  in  that  conspicuous  place  in  the  sol- 
diers' front  yards,  so  that  pedestrians  on  the  highways  could 
point  to  its  grave  and  defame  the  character  of  the  inhabitants 
by  branding  them  as  traitors.  I  say  again  to  your  honorable 
court  that — 

Interrupted  by  the  Prosecution:  I  object,  your  honor,  to 
the  defendant  making  this  plea,  here  at  this  time ;  let  him  put 
his  witness  on  the  stand. 

The  Defense :  I  apologize  to  the  court  and  jury  for  taking 
up  the  time  and  will  concede  to  the  learned  counsel's  objection 
by  putting  the  defendant's  witness  on  now. 

The  Court :    Carl  Person  to  the  witness  stand. 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      387 

The  Court :  I  now  introduce  the  defendant's  witness,  Carl 
Person,  to  the  learned  members  of  the  profession  and  the  hon- 
orable jury  in  this  most  important  case  of  William  H.  John- 
ston vs.  Jim  Kline. 

Carl  Person:  My  dear  reader,  the  records  of  this  trial 
were  suppressed  by  a  vote  of  the  machine.  The  reasons  given 
by  Mr.  H.  C.  Carr,  Machinist  Business  Agent  of  the  Rock 
Island  Railroad,  were  that  you  did  not  have  sense  enough  to 
understand  them.  (  See  minutes  of  the  convention  after  secret 
session. )  Therefore,  thinking  that  it  would  possibly  be  inter- 
esting to  some  people,  I  have  given  you  in  this  book  the  story 
of  the  strike  and  how  it  was  played,  as  I  tried  to  tell  it  before 
the  convention  in  the  two  days  that  I  had  the  floor  there,  Thurs- 
day and  Friday,  the  14th  and  15th  of  April,  1916.  The  story 
in  this  book  is  written  from  the  blue  prints  of  the  strike,  and 
therefore  lacks  the  excitement  that  would  be  added  to  it  if  it 
were  possible  to  produce  the  notes  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole  of  the  Kansas  City  Convention.  But 
there  is  only  a  certain  kind  of  reading  matter  that  is  good  for 
you.  (?)  And  there  are  advisers  who  are  in  a  better  position 
to  advise  you  on  what  is  advisable  for  you  to  read  than  you 
yourself.  Then,  my  readers,  you  must  be  satisfied  with  that 
advice,  for  he  that  questions  the  advice  of  the  advisers  is 
doomed  to  travel  thorn-strewn  paths  and  will  be  trailed  by  the 
advisers  as  the  fox  hounds  trail  the  quarry. 

I  have  more  confidence  in  you  than  the  jury  of  the  hon- 
orable court,  and  believe  that  you  can  fully  understand  the 
story  of  the  strike.  If,  however,  you  do  not,  this  is  because  of 
my  inability  to  write  the  story  in  an  understandable  manner, 
and  not  due  to  any  lack  of  intelligence  on  your  part.  In  this 
event,  charge  the  deficiency  up  to  the  author. 

At  the  Kansas  City  Convention  it  was  proven  that  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  trimmed  the  strikers  and  trimmed  them 
bad,  and  that  they  were  not  trimmed  by  anyone  else  but  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers.  Mr.  Kline  proved  that  the  money  was 
there  for  anyone  that  wanted  to  take  it.  And  that  he  had  the 


388  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

opportunity  to  take  it  from  an  ex-United  States  Senator,  who 
acted  as  the  go-between,  in  the  form  of  a  check  signed  by  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  made  payable  for  any 
amount  that  Mr.  Kline  wanted  to  have  inserted  on  that  check. 
(This  Mr.  Kline  made  reference  to  at  the  Briggs  House  con- 
vention in  1911.)  This  information  was  brought  out  in  the 
secret  session  of  Jim  Kline's  trial  and  is  with  other  valuable 
information  locked  up  in  the  safe  in  Mr.  Wharton's  office,  and 
is  matter  that  Mr.  Carr,  Machinist  Business  Agent  on  the  Rock 
Island,  thinks  the  common  herd  can't  understand.  Mr.  Kline 
turned  the  Illinois  Central  propositions  down  and  fought  for 
the  interest  of  the  strikers  that  much  harder,  while  the  other 
Grand  Lodge  officers  were  doing  everything  they  could  to  let 
the  strike  die,  and  when  they  couldn't  accomplish  this,  they 
took  it  upon  themselves  to  call  the  strike  off. 

What  would  you  think  in  this  case? 

Did  somebody  take  the  money? 

Do  you  think  that  Mr.  Kline  was  the  only  General  Presi- 
dent that  was  offered  the  money? 

Did  those  who  called  the  strike  off  get  anything  for  the 
strikers  in  so  doing? 

Then,  why  was  the  strike  called  off? 

They  were  not  paying  any  strike  benefits  at  the  time  the 
strike  was  called  off,  were  they? 

Didn't  the  calling  off  of  the  strike  benefit  the  railroad 
companies  ? 

Didn't  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  that  called  off  the 
strike  send  out  a  circular  on  March  11,  1912,  stating  that  the 
strike  then  was  costing  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  seven  million  dollars  per  month  ($7,000,000)?  Didn't 
every  Vice  President  who  covered  the  lines  in  their  monthly 
reports  up  to  the  very  last  report  made  by  them  in  their  jour- 
nals, state  that  the  companies  were  up  against  it  on  account 
of  the  strike?  Or  are  these  journals  published  for  the  benefit 
of  giving  you  misleading  information? 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      389 

Doesn't  William  Hannon,  Vice  President  of  the  Machin- 
ists, tell  you  in  the  October  issue  of  the  Machinists'  Journal 
for  1915,  page  908,  that  here  in  October,  four  months  after 
the  strike  was  legally  declared  off,  when  he  tried  to  get  a  con- 
ference with  General  Manager  Scott  of  the  Southern  Pacific, 
he  was  told  that  the  strike  was  still  hurting  the  company  ?  If 
it  was  hurting  the  S.  P.  R.  R.  in  October,  1915,  how  much 
more  was  it  injuring  them  five  months  previous,  on  the  24th 
of  May,  1915,  when  it  was  officially  declared  that  the  strikes 
would  be  called  off? 

Or,  was  the  Machinist  organization  spending  $155,381.15 
publishing  a  journal  from  June  1,  1911,  to  June  1,  1915,  the 
four  years  during  the  strikes,  just  to  give  William  Hannon, 
Walter  Ames,  H.  J.  Molloy,  Samuel  Grace  and  J.  G.  Taylor 
an  opportunity  to  mislead  the  strikers  and  the  membership  in 
general ? 

The  Machinists  were  either  misled  by  their  own  officers 
through  the  Journal,  or  badly  stung  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  who  declared  the  strike  off,  were  they  not? 

The  declaring  off  of  the  strikes  cost  honest  men  their  prin- 
ciples, and  if  they  were  misled  through  the  Journal,  this  mis- 
information cost  them  $155,381.15,  just  while  the  show  was 
going  on. 

Didn't  M.  F.  Ryan,  President  of  the  Carmen,  state  at  the 
Davenport  Convention  in  1911  that  nobody  at  any  time  had 
any  right  to  surrender  the  sacred  rights  of  the  principles  of 
federation  ? 

Didn't  Franklin  of  the  Boilermakers  make  the  same  kind 
of  a  speech  there  ? 

And  President  O'Sullivan  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers? 

Didn't  the  Machinist  Convention  make  this  declaration  at 
Davenport  ? 

Did  not  Mr.  Johnston  as  President  of  the  Machinists  as- 
sume the  responsibility  as  President  to  carry  out  these  declara- 
tions made  by  the  convention  ? 

Did  anybody  take  the  money?     Or  did  they  just  feel  so 


390  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

lonesome  for  the  Santa  Fe  and  the  L.  fy  N.  that  they  wanted 
to  give  them  new  company  ? 

Why  were  there  such  efforts  made  to  call  the  strike  off 
before  the  Industrial  Commission  made  the  investigation? 

Why  was  the  strike  called  off  during  the  business  rush 
to  San  Francisco  fair? 

Why  were  the  strikes  declared  off  when  business  started 
to  boom  and  the  ammunition  factories  wanted  mechanics,  and 
were  willing  to  pay  the  best  of  wages  ? 

Why  was  the  strike  called  off,  when  the  company  did  not 
even  put  the  old  men  back  to  work  who  had  worked  for  them 
from  20  to  35  years? 

If  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  did  not  take  the  money,  did 
they  not  perform  gallant  service  in  the  interest  of  the  railroad 
companies  gratis? 

Pardon  me,  it  is  not  in  place  to  ask  you  these  questions ; 
you  who  Business  Agent  Carr  of  the  Rock  Island  said  have 
not  got  sense  enough  to  understand  them?  And  I  trust  that 
they  will  not  interfere  or  disturb  your  curiosity.  I  was  young 
and  foolish  once  and  used  to  let  these  matters  disturb  me,  and 
they  sure  gave  me  a  run  for  my  hide,  and  are  still,  after  what 
is  left  of  it.  So  you  see,  curious  children  sometimes  have  to 
pay  and  pay  a  high  price  for  the  amusement  they  get  out  of 
curiosity. 

These  things  came  up  at  the  convention,  or  before  the  jury 
of  his  honorable  court  in  Kansas  City,  and  I  am  sure  that  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  to  allow  the  notes  and  photographs  of 
such  a  trial  get  to  the  public  would  display  unbusinesslike 
methods  on  the  part  of  the  Grand  Lodge  officers.  Someone  is 
liable  to  get  wise  to  the  play,  and  then  the  players  would  have 
difficulty  in  playing  the  same  drama  again.  And  as  long  as 
no  one  hollers,  and  if  the  game  is  profitable  to  play,  they  will 
play  the  same  game  again. 

Before  I  leave  Kansas  City,  I  must  tell  you  something 
about  the  convention,  and  tell  it  as  near  as  I  can  remember  it. 
Mr.  J.  P.  Noonan  of  the  Electrical  Workers  was  the  acting 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      391 

chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  and  a  regular  fel- 
low. Every  once  in  a  while  when  I  went  to  the  trough  for 
water  he  would  turn  his  head  and  say  in  an  undertone :  "Go  to 
it,  and  give  them  h — 1,  Kid."  Mr.  Johnston  of  the  Machinists 
was  there  with  his  attorneys,  J.  J.  Dowling,  who  has  a  post 
as  Business  Manager  on  the  Frisco,  and  Nicholson,  who  is  a 
Vice  President  of  the  Association.  They  were  sitting  directly 
in  front  of  me,  with  Johnston  in  the  middle,  and  back  of  them 
was  the  Machinist  delegation,  with  several  business  agents. 

On  the  left  were  the  Carmen,  headed  by  President  Ryan, 
who  was  seated  near  his  delegation,  and  on  the  further  left 
were  the  Boilermakers'  delegation,  headed  by  Vice  President 
Hinzman,  who  worked  the  strike  zone  during  the  early  days. 
Mr.  Wharton,  President  of  the  department,  with  Vice  President 
Pring,  sat  in  front  a  little  to  the  right,  and  on  the  right  side  in 
front  sat  the  entire  Blacksmiths'  delegation,  who  were  the  de- 
fendants in  the  case,  headed  by  Kline,  Tobin,  Horn,  VanDornes 
and  Bolam.  Back  of  the  Blacksmiths  were  the  Sheet  Metal 
Workers  and  the  Switchmen,  and  they  were  all  a  bunch  of  live 
fellows.  They  did  not  seem  to  have  any  strings  tied  to  them 
at  all,  but  laughed  and  took  chews  of  tobacco  and  didn't  care  if 
their  boss  saw  them  doing  it. 

The  Machinists  had  been  pretty  well  worked  on.  Attorneys 
Dowling  and  Nicholson  had  announced  my  coming  down  in 
advance,  and  of  course  told  them  how  mean  I  had  been  to  Pete 
Conlon's  little  dog,  how  I  used  to  lay  around  in  the  "rebels' 
nest"  and  pinch  the  tail  until  the  dog  wagged  way  up  there  in 
Washington.  (Reference,  P.  J.  Conlon.)  And  from  where  I 
stood  this  was  very  much  noticed  on  the  Machinist  delegation. 
Of  course,  the  learned  counsel  did  not  inform  them  that  the 
dog  was  dying  at  the  time. 

Mr.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  didn't  say  anything,  for  he  was 
afraid  that  I  was  going  to  surrender  the  platform  to  him  and 
call  him  up  and  introduce  him  to  the  audience,  as  the  gentle- 
man who  would  then  try  and  make  his  Davenport  speech  over 
again,  or  to  tell  the  audience  why  he  thought  I  ought  to  have 


392  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

been  hanged.  Mr.  McCreery,  who  was  President  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Federation  and  died  on  the  job  for  the  promise  of  the 
post  of  Vice  President  of  the  Carmen,  was  there.  But  in  a 
careless  way  I  announced  that  I  was  going  to  use  him  as  one  of 
my  exhibits.  And  McCreery  left  Kansas  City.  Molloy,  who 
I  also  intended  to  use  as  an  exhibit,  did  not  come  for  some 
reason  or  other. 

While  I  was  barking  away  the  best  I  knew  how,  the  good 
jury  was  taking  notes ;  half  of  the  audience  had  their  pencils 
and  notebooks  out  and  I  was  given  more  leeway  than  a  Paris 
banker  in  London ;  anything  went,  and  nobody  seemed  to  ob- 
ject, but  instead  of  the  objections  the  notes  were  taken  down 
rapidly,  and  of  course  the  learned  counsel  thought  this  was 
as  fine  as  I  thought  it  was  myself,  for  they  figured,  let  him  go, 
and  he  will  hang  himself  in  time.  I  barked  away  until  three- 
thirty  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  figured  that  I  had  said  enough 
to  convince  anyone  that  the  strikers  were  trimmed,  and  trimmed 
by  their  own  Grand  Lodge  officers.  And  so  here  I  made  my 
little  bow  to  the  worthy  brothers  just  as  we  used  to  do  after 
speaking  our  little  piece  in  Sunday  school,  during  the  Christ- 
mas holidays,  and  thanked  them  for  their  undivided  microscopic 
attention. 

As  I  was  about  to  leave,  I  bit  off  the  appendix  of  a  second- 
hand stogie,  for  the  microbes  that  were  forming  in  the  saliva, 
and  turned  to  say  adieu  to  his  honor  the  court,  who  had  been 
such  a  regular  fellow  during  the  exposition.  Just  then  there  arose 
a  commotion,  and  I  found  it  was  among  the  learned  counsel, 
Mr.  C.  T.  Nicholson,  the  special  attorney  for  Mr.  Johnston, 
in  which  he  vociferated  his  opinions  very  promiscuously  around 
the  charges  that  I  hadn't  said  anything  that  would  tend  to 
convince  him  or  his  delegation  that  the  strikers  had  been 
trimmed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  officers.  He  continued  there  in 
that  majestic  manner  that  is  so  noticeable  among  Washing- 
tonians,  and  that  no  one  is  imbued  with  unless  he  has  had  the 
opportunity  to  live  upon  the  fragrance  of  the  Washington 
atmosphere  and  the  oxygen  from  the  Machinist  treasury. 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      393 

If  Dame  Fortune  should  call  on  me  and  say  that  she  was 
to  rob  me  of  all  my  memories  but  just  one,  and  she  were  kind 
enough  to  allow  me  to  be  the  judge  of  the  one  that  I  wished 
to  keep,  then  out  of  all  of  them  I  would  select  this  picture,  that 
I  have  photographed  upon  my  memory  of  the  learned  counsel, 
Mr.  Nicholson,  as  he  stood  there  in  his  polished  fashion.  With 
this  alone  I  could  live  on  for  a  hundred  years  and  lay  around 
and  laugh  and  bite  my  toes  like  the  baby  in  the  cradle. 

Here  he  stood,  this  splendid  diplomat  who  buried  the 
hatchet  for  Mr.  Johnston's  friend  that  had  been  scabbing  for 
eight  months  on  the  short  line,  when  the  strike  was  called  off, 
trying  to  defend  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  for  trimming  the 
strikers.  A  man  like  him,  who  did  not  know  any  more  about  the 
Federation  and  the  strike  in  general  than  a  hog  knows  about 
the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Intense  excitement  prevailed  in  the  court  room.  The  dele- 
gates to  the  right  who  were  the  rebels  were  moving  around  in 
their  chairs.  The  defendant  made  an  objection  and  /  defended 
the  action  of  Mr.  Nicholson  and  suggested  that  he  should  con- 
tinue. Some  of  our  friends  in  the  rebel  delegation  gave  me  the 
high  sign  from  their  fixed  position  and  accumulated  laughter 
prevailed  everywhere  in  the  rebel  line-up.  All  of  the  associated 
attorneys  in  Mr.  Johnston's  delegation,  Attorney  Brunson  of 
St.  Louis,  Attorney  Carr,  Machinists'  Business  Manager  of 
the  Rock  Island  Lines,  and  the  other  shining  lights  on  Mr. 
Johnston's  staff  gathered  around  him.  Attorney  Dowling, 
Machinists'  Business  Manager  of  the  Frisco  lines,  sat  to  the 
right  of  Mr.  Johnston  transferring  his  notes  over  to  the  speaker 
for  their  delegation,  Mr.  Nicholson,  so  that  he  wouldn't  run 
out  of  a  subject  to  talk  on.  While  a  very  distinguished  looking 
gentleman  who  wore  a  fancy  vest  and  carried  a  luxurious  head 
of  hair,  started  to  walk  up  and  down  the  aisle  adjacent  to  the 
Machinists'  delegation,  and  frequently  stroked  his  heavy  au- 
burn locks.  He  was  a  scholar  and  philosopher  from  Wichita, 
Kan.  (the  State  of  Sockless  Simpson),  by  the  name  of  E.  L. 
Barraclough. 


394  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen  moved  about  and  looked  a  bit 
nervous  as  he  viewed  the  witness  stand,  while  the  reactionary 
delegations  were  whispering  and  smiling,  I  assume  exchanging 
their  opinions,  and  predicting  that  the  speakers  have  sure  got 
the  ingrate  hung  on  his  own  arguments  now.  As  Attorney 
Nicholson  closed  up  his  very  fine  and  polished  oration  with  the 
musical  expostulation,  "That  here  I  say  to  your  honor  the 
court,  the  court  and  my  very  distinguished  colleagues  of  this 
sacred  jury,  that  this  man  here  today,  who  has  in  the  most 
intrusive,  impolite  and  undignified  manner  charged  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  of  the  various  associations,  and  my  esteemed 
friend,  Mr.  Johnston  (subdue  sobs),  whom  I  have  the  honor 
and  pleasure  to  represent  before  this  honorable  court,  of  being 
social  criminals  and  of  trimming  the  strikers  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  I  say,  as  I  stand  here  burdened 
with  all  the  wisdom  of  the  labor  movement,  that  this  man  has 
not  produced  one  iota  of  documentary  evidence  to  substantiate 
even  one  of  the  malicious  statements  that  he  has  intruded  upon 
our  intelligence." 

Mr.  Nicholson's  magnificent  speech  brought  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  the  emotional  Johnston  and  applause  from  the  reac- 
tionary side  of  the  court  room. 

Several  of  the  Machinist  delegates  arose  to  the  floor  and 
tried  to  send  in  their  decisions  simultaneously.  Defendant  ob- 
jected. I  said  let  them  come,  that  I  would  play  the  game  any 
way  they  wanted  it  played.  The  rougher  they  made  it,  the 
better  I  would  like  it.  The  court  ordered  me  to  proceed,  which 
I  did  by  stating  that  I  realized  that  they  had  gathered  and 
were  under  a  large  expense,  and  in  addition  to  this  trial  they 
had  many  other  subjects  to  take  up,  and  that  I  felt  that  the 
seven  hours  that  I  had  consumed  going  over  the  strike  situa- 
tion was  all  they  could  afford  to  give  me.  In  my  talk  I  had 
often  been  interrupted  by  my  own  thoughts,  that  I  was  intrud- 
ing upon  their  time  by  taking  the  liberty  to  consume  as  much 
of  it  as  I  had.  Now,  however,  that  it  seemed  to  have  been 
enjoyed  by  all  and  I  was  invited  to  continue,  I  assure  you  that 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      395 

this  kind  extension  was  appreciated  far  beyond  such  words  as  I 
could  find  for  a  suitable  expression.  Further,  that  I  was  in  a 
position  to  stay  a  week  or  a  month  with  them  and  could  talk 
that  long  if  necessary  on  this  interesting  subject  of  the  trim- 
ming the  strikers  got.  That  I  had  the  documentary  proof  for 
every  statement  I  made,  and  how  very  thankful  I  was  to  the 
learned  counsel,  Mr.  Nicholson,  for  the  splendid  opportunity 
he  had  made  for  me  to  produce  them  and  place  them  on  exhi- 
bition. 

I  brought  forth  the  documents  and  exhibits,  and  took  the 
liberty  to  make  a  speech  on  every  one  of  them.  The  first  day 
the  court  was  held  until  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  by  that 
time  Attorney  Nicholson  discovered  that  he  was  in  bad  and 
made  a  grave  mistake  by  inviting  an  extension  of  time  for  the 
discussion.  The  court  adjourned  at  six  o'clock  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  jury  left  for  the  gay  lights  of  the  city. 

While  going  out  through  the  Annex,  I  found  that  I  had 
some  friends  there.  The  Blacksmiths  were  all  there  with  a 
hand  of  comradeship  and  the  Switchmen,  Electrical  Workers 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers'  delegation, 
as  well  as  a  few  of  the  delegates  from  the  other  crafts  who 
were  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  pleased  and  didn't  give  a  whoop 
who  knew  it  or  who  saw  it.  Everybody  seemed  to  appreciate 
the  fact  that  Attorney  Nicholson  made  an  ass  of  himself  by 
giving  me  an  opportunity  to  bring  out  the  documents  and 
place  an  extension  of  a  speech  on  them. 

That  night,  at  the  Edward's  Hotel,  the  Machinists  held  a 
caucus,  and  Attorney  Nicholson  was  placed  on  trial.  He  got 
his  as  never  before,  and  was  sarcastically  instructed  that  while 
he  was  still  given  permission  to  attend  court  in  the  morning, 
he  was  to  play  the  part  of  a  silent  counsel  for  the  delegation. 

I  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  and  met  many  of  the  boys 
around  the  Edward's  Hotel.  Even  Sam  Grace  of  Omaha  was 
delighted  to  meet  me.  A  Machinist  delegate  introduced  himself 
as  coming  from  the  South,  said  that  he  was  satisfied  that  we 
were  trimmed  in  that  strike,  but  the  machine  there  had  lined 


396  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

up  the  delegation  and  threatened  them  with  withdrawing  the 
support  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  their  districts  if  they  would  not 
"go  along"  and  vote  as  they  were  told  to  do.  Besides,  they 
offered  a  flowery  post  on  that  Grand  Lodge  payroll  and  par- 
tial financial  support  to  those  districts  that  couldn't  maintain 
a  salaried  Business  Agent,  making  it  possible  for  them  to  do 
so  with  the  support  that  they  would  get  from  the  Grand  Lodge, 
providing  that  they  remained  loyal  to  the  machine.  I  dis- 
missed him  by  informing  him  that  the  strikers  were  trimmed 
because  we  had  too  many  men  to  contend  with  just  like  himself, 
and  the  fact  that  he  expressed  himself  as  being  satisfied  that 
I  was  right  meant  nothing  to  me  if  he  did  not  have  the  courage 
to  stand  on  his  convictions  when  he  was  satisfied  we  were  right. 

The  court  went  in  session  on  time  in  the  morning  (Friday, 
the  15th),  and  it  started  out  to  be  more  exciting  than  on  the 
previous  day.  Attorney  Dowling,  who  had  now  been  made 
chief  counsel  for  the  Machinists'  delegation,  acted  as  spokes- 
man and  started  to  object  frequently  to  making  my  little 
speech  too  extensive  on  some  of  the  documents,  for  you  under- 
stand they  didn't  want  the  situation  put  forth  with  any  more 
clothes  off  than  they  could  help.  For  this  you  could  not  blame 
them.  While  I  was  making  an  effort  to  undress  my  exhibits 
and  shake  it  before  them  in  its  nudeness.  With  my  unvarnished 
monkey-wrench  vocabulary  I  grew  out  of  myself  and  developed 
the  madness  and  the  crudeness  of  a  mother  when  robbed  of  her 
new-born  child. 

While  I  was  changing  one  of  my  exhibits,  Mr.  Johnston, 
President  of  the  Machinists,  arose  and  said:  "You  made  a 
statement  that  our  Association  confiscated  the  strikers'  money 
and  used  some  of  it  for  organizing  purposes.  Do  you  know 
that  our  association  did  not  have  an  organizer  on  the  payroll 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  from  the  inception  of  the  strike  until  one 
year  afterwards  ?"  "You're  a  liar,  Mr.  Johnston,"  I  shouted. 
"You  took  J.  J.  Meagher  off  the  Illinois  Central  and  put  him 
on  the  Big  Four  Railroad  shortly  after  the  strike  and  your  own 
financial  report  shows  that  you  spent  $11,825.90  in  the  last 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      397 

six  months  of  1911  and  the  first  six  months  of  1912  for  organ- 
izers' salaries,  and  during  the  four  years  of  the  strike,  when 
you  were  blaming  the  Association's  depleted  treasury  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strikers,  you  spent  $148,- 
904.14  on  your  political  machine,  and  you  have  this  amount 
charged  up  on  your  reports  to  General  Organizers,  who  were 
not  near  the  roads  on  strike,  with  the  exception  of  Molloy, 
Grace  and  Taylor,  and  you  took  them  off  strike  duty,  as  far 
as  the  strikes  were  concerned,  in  the  early  part  of  1913. 
Enough  money  in  itself  to  have  won  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strike,  if  placed  with  a  few  men  at  each  ter- 
minal point  on  the  systems,  who  would  go  out  and  bring  forth 
results  that  win  strikes.  If  you  know  anything  about  strikes, 
you  will  know  what  I  mean  when  I  say  "results."  Some  of  you 
people  are  so  narrow-minded  that  you  think  that  placing  six 
dollars  a  week  with  the  food  sufferers  will  win  a  strike.  It 
never  did  and  never  will,  nor  will  the  placing  of  twenty-five  dol- 
lars a  week  with  the  food  sufferers  win  a  strike.  But  strikes 
can  be  won  if  you  would  place  fifteen,  twenty  or  twenty-five 
dollars  a  week  with  food  sufferers  who  will  get  on  the  job  and 
give  you  results  for  the  money,  the  results  that  are  necessary 
in  the  crudeness  of  a  strike ;  people  that  have  sufficient  courage 
and  influence  to  call  on  the  preachers  of  the  community  and 
convince  them  of  the  righteousness  of  the  cause,  and  other 
strike  occupations  in  general,  that  you  people  realize  are  a 
necessity  and  haven't  the  courage  to  do.  But  you  play  on 
the  soldiers  in  rags,  and  it  was  because  the  courage  of  these 
soldiers  whose  graves  are  not  decorated  over  on  the  hillside,  that 
the  labor  movement  has  made  the  progress  that  it  has.  Pol- 
ished gentlemen  in  dress  suits  do  not  win  strikes.  Their  busi- 
ness in  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
has  been  to  ridicule  the  few  ragged  soldiers  that  tried  to  do 
something  toward  the  end  of  winning  the  strike,  and  some  of 
them,  too,  are  now  in  their  unmarked  graves,  and  a  good  many 
others  in  the  poor-house  parade.  Now  that  the  strikes  were 
not  won,  you  blame  it  onto  the  unfortunate  victims  who  had 


398  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

placed  full  confidence  in  you  who  are  too  polished  and  too 
cowardly  to  carry  the  stains  of  defeat  of  a  battle  yourself. 
But  if  the  situation  had  been  different,  and  the  strikes  had  been 
won,  I  can  see  you  Grand  Lodge  officers  in  dress  parade  show- 
ering congratulations  upon  yourselves  and  copyrighting  the 
honor  of  its  victory."  Shouts  from  the  audience:  "Object! 
Object!  Object!  I  object,  your  honor,  that  man  is  not  talking 
on  the  subject." 

The  court :  "Give  them  h — 1,  Kid.  You  know  I  have  to 
make  them  believe  that  I  am  paying  attention  to  their  objec- 
tions." 

Mr.  Johnston  then  sat  down  and  said  that  he  would  answer 
me  later,  but  must  have  forgotten  all  about  it,  for  he  seemed  to 
be  satisfied  with  my  answer. 

Johnston  got  a  shot  here  that  put  smiles  on  my  rebel 
friends  on  the  right  side  of  the  court  and  an  occasional  frown 
from  the  delegation  to  the  left.  The  attorneys,  Bowling  and 
Carr,  seemed  to  say  that  "The  ingrate  is  as  mean  to  our  boss 
as  he  was  to  Pete  Conlon's  dog."  Of  course,  in  justice  to  Pete 
Conlon,  I  might  say  that  the  dog  in  Washington  was  not 
Pete's;  he  just  had  a  job  looking  after  it  while  Mr.  Johnston 
was  taking  the  rest  cure  down  at  Atlantic  City. 

Mr.  Wharton,  President  of  the  department,  who  was  the 
attorney  general,  was  then  seen  getting  up  and  going  into  a 
sanctuary  of  the  court  room,  and  when  he  came  out  he  had 
more  documents  and  papers  than  the  officers  of  the  Railroad 
Department  have  to  go  through  at  one  of  their  meetings, 
when  they  are  called  on  to  decide  whether  Mr.  Johnston  of  the 
Machinists  or  Mr.  Bray  of  the  Sheet  Metal  Workers  shall 
collect  the  monthly  tax  from  the  worthy  brother  whose  occu- 
pation it  is  to  connect  and  disconnect  the  one-quarter  inch 
swivel  brass  nut  that  runs  from  the  E.  T.  equipment  to  the 
pump  governor.  You  understand  that  there  are  more  prece- 
dents, decisions,  appeals  for  new  trials  and  habeas  corpus  pro- 
ceedings on  this  dispute  than  there  are  documents  in  the  library 
of  Congress,  for  whenever  there  is  a  question  on  the  legality 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      399 

of  a  brother's  monthly  taxes,  then  there  is  sure  to  be  some 
squabble  among  the  authorities.  If  you  want  to  attend  a  trial 
sometimes,  that  is  more  interesting  than  two  women  in  court, 
both  claiming  the  motherhood  of  the  same  baby,  than  try  to 
get  within  a  mile  or  so  of  one  of  the  Railway  Department 
meetings,  when  two  of  these  gentlemen  are  engaged  in  both 
claiming  the  fatherhood  of  this  poor  rusty  old  swivel  brass  nut. 
You'll  have  more  real  enjoyment  than  any  country  dance  you 
ever  went  to,  even  if  the  girls  were  dressed  in  taut  suits  and 
wore  wooden  shoes. 

Well,  here  was  Wharton,  standing  up  with  all  these  docu- 
ments, circular  letters,  and  as  I  looked  down  upon  the  docu- 
mentary collection  I  treated  myself  to  a  joyous  smile,  for  I 
saw  a  good  many  old  copies  of  my  old  sweetheart,  the  Strike 
Bulletin,  and  as  Mr.  Wharton  started  out  on  his  speech  to  the 
judge,  jury  and  so  on,  I  realized  that  I  was  in  danger  of  rob- 
bing Mr.  Kline  of  the  honor  of  being  the  defendant  here,  for 
it  looked  as  if  I  was  on  trial,  with  the  men  who  went  on  strike. 
I  was  being  blamed  here  for  everything  that  had  taken  place 
from  Frisco  to  Chicago  and  from  New  Orleans  to  Portland, 
and  of  course  I  had  a  fine  alibi.  All  I  would  have  to  do  was 
to  call  up  Mr.  Ryan  of  the  Carmen,  and  Franklin  of  the  Boiler- 
makers, Johnston  of  the  Machinists,  as  well  as  Kline  of  the 
Blacksmiths,  put  them  on  exhibition  alongside  of  me  there 
on  the  platform,  and  pulled  out  the  proceedings  of  the 
Machinist  Convention  at  Davenport  for  April,  1911,  and  put 
it  in  front  of  Mr.  Johnston,  so  he  would  not  lose  his  place. 
Then  I  could  have  told  Mr.  Wharton,  the  prosecuting  attorney, 
and  called  special  attention  to  the  jury  of  my  exhibits,  by 
telling  them  that  now  that  you  have  heard  the  charges  put 
forth,  with  the  accusations  that  myself  and  the  strikers  are 
responsible  for  this  muddle  and  social  mess.  I  want  to  prove 
that  Wharton  doesn't  know  what  he  is  talking  about.  It  is 
my  exhibits  that  are  responsible  for  all  this.  Then  to  sub- 
stantiate my  statement  under  oath,  I  could  call  Mr.  Johnston's 
attention  to  the  evidence  set  forth  by  Mr.  Wharton,  and  say"; 


400  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Now,  Johnston,  for  the  first  time  I  have  got  you  under  oath 
and  you  have  to  tell  the  truth.  Are  you  guilty  or  not  guilty  ? 
Johnston,  of  course,  would  have  to  have  said,  "Yes,  I  am 
guilty."  Now,  Mr.  Ryan,  are  you  guilty  or  not  guilty? 
Guilty !  Guilty !  Mr.  Franklin,  see  there  what  Wharton  has 
got?  Now  you  did  that,  did  you  not? 

Franklin  in  hesitation. 

Come  on,  now,  Franklin ;  I  have  your  record  here  on  page 
so  and  so;  Don't  side-step.  Come  on.  Well, 'er,  yes,  I  am  guilty. 

And,  Mr.  Kline,  can  you  see  there  what  Mr.  Wharton  has  ? 
He  is  blaming  that  onto  the  poor  fellows  that  you  Grand  Lodge 
officers  called  on  strike.  Isn't  it  a  fact  that  you  Grand  Lodge 
officers  spread  the  jam  that  Wharton  has  there  all  over  this 
country  some  time  in  the  latter  part  of  1911  ? 

Kline:  Of  course  we  did.  Brothers  Ryan,  Franklin  and 
Johnston  said  that  we  didn't  do  it,  but  I  said  that  we  did. 

Then  I  would  say,  Now,  Mr.  Kline,  isn't  it  a  fact  that  the 
money  was  there  for  those  that  would  take  it  ?  And  Mr.  Kline 
would  say,  Of  course  it  was ;  I  was  offered  the  money,  and  if 
they  offered  me  the  money,  I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that 
the  money  was  offered  to  the  rest  of  the  Presidents ;  and  there 
is  one  thing  certain,  and  that  is,  that  the  money  was  there  for 
anyone  that  wanted  to  take  it,  and  I  have  often  wondered  why 
Ryan  was  taken  in  a  room  in  the  Kaiserhof  Hotel  by  Mr. 
Bucher,  at  one  time  the  Master  Car  Builder  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  and  more  surprised  when  I  learned  that  he 
had  been  invited  back  to  another  conference  with  the  same 
individual,  and  still  more  astonished  when  I  heard  that  the 
same  man  had  put  up  a  proposition  to  Ryan  that  he  and  Mrs. 
Ryan  would  be  taken  care  of  the  rest  of  their  lives.  My  man 
did  not  come  back  the  second  time  to  me.  Do  you  know  the 
reason  why? 

Then  I  would  have  given  them  all  a  nice  little  fatherly 
talk,  and  told  those  who  had  tried  to  lie  out  of  their  embar- 
rassment that  it  was  not  very  nice  for  them  to  blame  the 
"breaking  of  the  windows"  to  the  smaller  children,  when  they 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      401 

themselves  were  responsible  for  the  damage  done,  and  besides, 
they  were  the  largest  boys  in  the  class,  and  now  that  they  have 
reached  the  age  where  they  should  be  expected  to  be  trusted 
to  go  out  and  play  with  the  other  children  without  being  mean 
to  them.  Had  I  done  this,  I  of  course  could  have  won  the 
case  for  Mr.  Kline,  myself  and  the  men  on  strike. 

But  this  wouldn't  have  been  a  very  interesting  trial,  so  I 
said,  Come  on,  Mr.  Wharton,  load  it  all  onto  yours  truly,  and 
informed  him  that  I  was  there  ready  to  shoulder  the  respon- 
sibility of  all  men  who  went  on  strike  and  did  not  turn  traitor 
to  their  fellows.  I  said  /  would  take  the  responsibility  for  the 
shortcomings  that  he  had,  and  would  charge  to  them,  regardless 
of  where  they  went  on  strike.  Or  where  they  might  be  at  this 
time. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  after  a  pause,  continued :  "Yes,  here, 
your  honor  and  my  fellow-citizens  of  this  jury,  I  charge  this 
man  with  forgery!  I  say  that  on  Feb.  26,  1915,  this  man 
here,  your  honor,  sent  out  a  circular  letter  soliciting  subscrip- 
tions from  our  people,  so  that  he  could  continue  running  the 
Strike  Bulletin,  and  he  even  asked  the  people  not  to  ride  the 
Southern  Pacific  to  the  San  Francisco  fair.  And  to  this  letter 
he  forged  the  signature  of  Attorney  Frank  Comerford  of 
Chicago."  (Intense  silence  prevailed  among  the  rebels,  appar- 
ent smiles  of  satisfaction  from  the  reactionary  delegations.) 

"Say,  fellows,  here  is  a  guy  charging  me  with  forgery. 
That,  sure,  is  a  tame  indictment.  Why,  during  the  strike  I 
did  many  things  much  worse  than  that,  and  the  only  reason  I 
did  not  forge  the  name  of  A.  O.  Wharton  to  any  of  our  cir- 
culars was  because  I  realized  that  it  would  injure  the  cause  of 
the  men  on  strike  and  the  Strike  Bulletin  as  well.  Had  I 
thought  for  a  minute  that  Mr.  Wharton's  signature  or  the 
signature  of  anyone  else  would  have  been  instrumental  to  the 
successful  ending  of  that  strike,  I  should  have  willingly  and 
knowingly  made  use  of  such  signatures  upon  circular  letters, 
bankable  notes  or  anything  else,  for  could  a  strike  of  that 
magnitude  arrive  at  the  terminus  of  an  honorable  settlement, 


402  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

then  the  commitment  of  forgery  by  me  or  anyone  else  could 
be  considered  a  matter  of  minor  consequence,  compared  with 
the  results  attained.  So,  Mr.  Wharton,  if  you  are  unable  to 
discover  where  I  have  forged  your  signature  I  shall  be  pleased 
to  inform  you  that  I  have  long  ago  decided  it  of  such  little 
consequence  that  it  does  not  even  merit  my  attention  when  I 
have  under  consideration  suitable  signatures  for  forgery. 

Kline:  I  object  to  switching  someone  else  in  here  as  a 
defendant.  I  am  the  defendant  in  this  case  and  I  insist  on 
being  tried  instead  of  Person.  "Objection  not  sustained.  Per- 
son will  proceed !" . 

But  here  you  are,  under  the  shower  of  your  own  perspira- 
tion, accusing  me  of  committing  forgery  for  the  men  on  strike. 
Had  such  a  charge  come  from  Mr.  Comerford,  whose  signature 
was  used,  the  situation  would  merit  some  attention,  or  had  it 
come  from  the  legal  department  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road as  this  could  be  expected.  But,  you,  Mr.  Wharton,  whose 
very  occupation  is  maintained  by  the  taxes  of  labor,  stand  here 
and  charge  me  with  committing  forgery  that  the  cause  of  those 
that  you  have  deserted,  surrendered  and  prostituted  might 
burn  upon  the  highways  with  all  the  illumination  that  it  was 
possible  to  generate. 

Attorney  Comerford  is  here  in  the  city  and  will  upon  invita- 
tion of  this  convention  take  this  platform,  and  then  I  shall 
prove  that  it  was  Mr.  Wharton  here  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  whose  signatures  were  attached  to  that  letter  accusing 
me  of  forgery,  who  are  the  real  forgers  in  the  case,  and  back 
of  your  insidious  operations  was  the  fear  that  the  using  of 
Attorney  Comerford's  signature  would  be  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing sufficient  -funds  to  keep  the  Strike  Bulletin  alive,  in  that 
crisis,  when  it  necessitated  the  accumulated  efforts  of  every 
reactionist  in  the  Railway  Department  to  deliver  to  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  that  which  they  admitted  in  1912 
drained  their  treasuries  to  the  extent  of  $7,000,000  a  month. 

"I  may,  however,  be  charged  with  overriding  jurisdictional 
lines  and  the  boundary  fences,  but  should  this  be  discovered  the 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      403 

blue  prints  will  indicate  that  such  intrusions  have  been  in  the 
interest  of  labor  and  in  the  interest  of  that  crowd  that  you 
Grand  Lodge  officers  drove  into  the  desert  in  1911,  with  your 
well  wishes  and  profoundest  prayers  that  they  should  perish, 
and  perish  like  pioneer  trains  perished  under  the  burning  rays, 
as  the  Indian  chiefs  left  them  stranded  upon  the  sand-laden  and 
sun-baked  desert. 

"I  am  happy  to  stand  here,  convicted  by  the  President  of 
the  Railway  Department  of  having  done  something  in  the  in- 
terest of  my  comrades,  after  they  were  deserted  by  Mr.  Whar- 
ton  and  others  whose  duty  it  was  to  serve  them  as  I  did,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  stand  in  the  captain's  cabin  and  guide  their  good 
ship  through  the  capes  of  misfortune  and  over  the  straits  of 
persistence,  and  who  should  have  stood  there  on  the  deck  and 
gone  down  with  their  ship,  like  the  old  Norse  captains  of  old, 
when  they  were  rammed  by  the  icebergs.  Instead,  you  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Railway  Department,  with  your  coterie  of  Grand 
Lodge  officers  played  the  part  of  the  pirates;  you  started  the 
ship  from  its  dock,  and  when  out  on  the  high  seas  in  the  darkness 
of  the  storm,  you  opened  up  the  water  valves  and  took  the 
lifeboats  and  belts.  And  as  the  vacuum  of  your  manufactured 
catastrophe  drew  its  victims  with  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
you  sat  there  with  your  associated  Grand  Lodge  officers,  intoxi- 
cated with  that  joy  over  your  accomplishments  that  smiles 
around  the  cave  man  a<s  he  gnaws  his  morning  meal  from  the 
bones  of  his  weaker  brother. 

As  I  stand  here  exercising  my  feeble  effort  in  defense  of 
a  cause  that  is  as  paramount  today  as  it  was  in  1911,  even 
though  it  stands  deserted  by  those  from  whom  it  deserved  the 
most  support,  I  am  reminded  of  your  letter  to  me,  Mr.  Whar- 
ton,  of  May  1,  1913,  in  which  you  stated  that  you,  too,  were 
going  to  declare  war  upon  these  pirates  for  their  unfaithful- 
ness to  the  very  men  and  cause  I  am  here  defending.  You 
remember  the  letter  in  which  you  knowingly  expressed  and 
acknowledged  the  fact  that  the  movement  was  suffering  for 
the  want  of  that  support  which  generates  life  and  action,  and 


404  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

that  if  those  whose  crimes  you  are  here  now  making  an  un- 
successful effort  to  defend  would  then  not  carry  out  your  ad- 
monishments, you,  Mr.  Wharton,  should  determine  it  your 
duty  to  carry  them  out  yourself.  But  the  test  of  time  has 
brought  forth  no  records  that  you  were  strong  enough  to 
stand  on  your  decisions.  To  make  your  weakness  more  deplora- 
ble is  the  fact  that  you,  Mr.  Wharton,  you,  who  should  stand 
here  with  me,  have  stood  here  at  this  convention  under  the 
frock  of  that  commission  of  which  I  please  to  term  the  Attorney 
General  for  that  aggregation  of  social  criminals,  who  you  at 
one  time  regarded  as  unfaithful  to  the  cause." 

Showers  of  objections  came  forth  from  the  reactionary 
delegation ;  smiles  from  the  rebels. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton:  "The  honorable  court  and  jury,  I 
have  here  a  copy  of  the  Strike  Bulletin,  in  which  there  is  this 
statement  (Mr.  Wharton  reading)  :  'I  don't  fear  God,  heaven, 
hell  or  the  devil.'  Did  you,  Carl  Person,  write  that  ?" 

"If  such  a  statement  is  made  in  the  Strike  Bulletin  any- 
where, I  shall  be  glad  to  take  the  responsibility  for  it,  regard- 
less whether  I  wrote  it  or  not." 

Wharton :    "What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?    Explain." 

"I  didn't  think  that  you  people  here  were  going  to  put 
God  on  trial  too,  but  as  it  seems  that  I  have  had  to  defend  so 
many  of  his  children  here,  I  am  proud  to  know  that  I  have  also 
had  the  pleasure  of  representing  God  within  this  court.  Now 
that  the  charge  is  that  I  have  stated  that  I  am  not  afraid  of 
God,  I  want  to  impress  upon  the  learned  counsel,  Mr.  Wharton, 
that  God  is  a  personal  friend  of  mine.  Why  should  I  be  afraid 
of  him?  No  one  is  afraid  of  his  friends,  and  as  the  assump- 
tion is  that  the  term  'heaven'  is  God's  personal  estate,  and  that 
all  those  who  stick  with  God  while  down  here  crawling  around 
on  this  little  planet  will  get  fine  apartments  on  his  personal 
estate  in  'heaven.'  Then,  Mr.  Wharton,  why  should  I  and  the 
strikers,  who  stuck  so  faithfully,  be  afraid  of  God  or  heaven? 
God  is  the  greatest  being  that  I  can  conceive  of,  the  great 
monument  of  the  universe,  the  all  and  in  all,  and,  tell  me  now, 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      405 

Mr.  Wharton,  why  should  I  be  afraid  of  heaven  ?  If  heaven  is 
as  fine  a  place  as  we  are  told  it  is  ?" 

Wharton :  "Yes,  go  on ;  explain  about  hell  and  the  devil 
now." 

Intensified  silence  prevails.     Kline  smiles. 

"I  am  sure  that  I  enjoy  this  part  of  the  proceedings  as 
immensely  as  the  distinguished  counsel,  but  I  may  add  that 
I  consider  it  foreign  to  this  convention.  However,  for  the 
benefit  of  Mr.  Wharton  and  those  investigators  who  are  anx- 
ious for  my  answer,  I  will  state  that  the  best  evidence  I  can 
produce  that  I  am  not  afraid  of  either  hell  or  the  devil  is  the 
fact  that  I  dared  to  come  to  this  convention.  I  knew  in  ad- 
vance that  here  the  devil  would  be  well  represented,  and  since 
my  arrival  I  am  satisfied  that  I  have  met  him  and  seen  more 
ingredients  of  hell  here  in  this  convention  than  there  can  pos- 
sibly be  in  the  devil's  personal  estate." 

Roars  of  laughter  from  the  rebel  delegation. 

Mr.  Franklin,  President  of  the  Boilermakers,  cried  out: 
"Here,  Judge,  I  want  to  know  what  this  man  meant  by  calling 
God  a  monument." 

The  Court :  "You  may  answer  the  distinguished  laborolo- 
gist." 

"You're  President  of  the  Boilermakers'  International 
Union,  aren't  you,  Mr.  Franklin?  Yes,  siree!  And  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  you  have  attended  Sunday  school  and  church 
in  your  time,  and  here  you  are  burdened  with  age,  coming  to 
this  convention  where  time  is  worth  two  hundred  dollars  an 
hour,  that  will  have  to  be  paid  in  taxes  by  the  boys  back  home, 
who  are  already  overtaxed  and  overburdened,  because  you 
people  are  holding  conventions,  discussing  non-essentials  and 
searching  for  knowledge  that  any  newsboy  had  when  he  was 
six  or  seven  years  old.  But  if  it  is  the  desire  of  this  conven- 
tion that  we  shall  now  take  up  the  question  'of  measuring  the 
greatness  of  God,  then,  gentlemen  of  this  convention,  I  shall 
with  my  limited  knowledge  of  Neitche,  Ingersoll,  Darwin  and 
the  Holy  Bible  endeavor  to  do  the  best  I  can." 


406  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Motion  made  that  the  question  under  discussion  be  dropped. 

Smiles  from  the  rebels. 

This  was  the  shrewdest  part  of  the  proceedings.  This  is 
what  is  called  professional  politics  and  played  by  those  who 
know  how  to  play  it  and  use  it  when  everything  else  fails,  but 
even  the  professionals  failed  here.  Of  course,  you  realize  as 
well  as  I  do  that  Mr.  Wharton  and  Franklin  were  not  ignorant 
at  all.  They  possibly  are  better  acquainted  with  the  devil 
than  I  am.  But  this  makes  no  difference ;  they  had  some  ani- 
mals here  that  could  not  think  for  themselves  and  did  not 
realize  why  the  religious  part  of  it  was  being  played. 

The  fact  of  it  was  that  I  had  stood  there  for  two  days  and 
knocked  them  down  as  they  came  up  in  their  turn,  from 
Johnston  to  Wharton.  We  had  our  case  won,  as  far  as  show- 
ing up  the  trimming  that  the  strikers  got  was  concerned,  and 
they  fully  realized  this.  The  next  best  thing  they  could  do 
was  to  bury  the  notes  of  the  proceedings,  and  in  order  to  do 
this  they  had  to  play  the  boys  up  and  play  them  up  strong. 
They  hoped  to  do  this  on  the  strength  of  putting  me  on 
record  as  to  my  religion  and  my  interpretation  of  God.  Their 
method  was  to  go  to  the  protestant  and  say,  that  fellow  who  has 
been  barking  here  is  no  good ;  you  see  he  is  a  Catholic.  And 
then  they  would  go  to  the  Catholic  and  say,  he  is  a  Protestant 
or  an  atheist,  therefore  no  good.  But  as  they  played  this  very 
strong  during  the  strike,  I  happened  to  be  wise  to  their  game 
and  gave  them  the  information  they  thought  they  asked  for. 
After  they  got  it,  they  were  as  wise  as  they  were  before  they 
made  the  inquiry.  This,  however,  was  a  shrewd  card  to  play 
from  their  standpoint,  for  it  generally  gets  the  desired  results 
everywhere.  It  was  used  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  by  both  the  railroad  companies  and  some  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers. 

Late  Friday  afternoon,  the  15th,  I  made  my  final  bow  to 
the  worthy  brothers,  gathered  up  my  documents  and  walked 
out  of  the  court  room,  and  as  I  got  near  the  exit  a  fellow  was 
seen  falling  over  a  half  dozen  chairs  getting  towards  me.  As  I 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY       407 

looked  him  over  in  his  precipitation,  I  noticed  that  he  was 
wearing  smiles  all  over  the  exterior  of  his  exhaust  nozzle.  As 
he  picked  himself  up,  he  extracted  my  trembling  hand  that  I 
was  resting  upon  the  door  lock  knob  and  swung  his  other  grab- 
hook  over  its  swivel  joint,  then  started  his  valve  motion,  shower- 
ing me  with  congratulations  and  assured  me  that  from  that 
time  on  I  should  occupy  a  position  uppermost  in  his  mind  at 
such  intervals  when  he  had  occasion  to  precipitate  his  mental 
visions  into  those  chambers  of  thought  where  he  had  stored 
away  the  photographs  of  his  dearest  friends.  And  as  he  stood 
there  drawing  up  his  reverse  lever  towards  the  center,  he  had 
my  elbow  in  motion  jerking  back  and  forth,  until  it  looked  like 
a  Walschart  valve  motion  connecting  rod  on  one  of  the  engines 
running  sixty  miles  per  hour  with  her  limited  train  down  along 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  As  soon  as  I  was  able  to  apply  the 
emergency  brakes,  I  discovered  to  my  surprise  that  it  was  the 
learned  and  distinguished  scholar  of  casuistry,  lawyer  and 
philosopher,  who  had  appeared  in  the  first  day's  proceedings 
as  chief  attorney  for  the  reactionary  delegation  and  on  the 
second  as  the  delegation's  silent  counsel,  the  most  honorable 
C.  T.  Nicholson  of  the  International  Association  of  Machin- 
ists. Of  course,  it  was  hard  to  stand,  for  I  knew  that  his  pol- 
ished song  was  as  deceiving  as  the  insincerity  of  the  hand  that 
had  squeezed  my  fingers  and  accelerated  the  circulation  that 
changed  the  pallor  of  my  cheeks  to  a  tinted  red. 

My  attention  was  arrested  by  a  boulevard  jitney  as  I 
limped  down  alone  along  the  terrace  of  the  Paseo,  and  I 
boarded  it  for  the  busy  thoroughfare  where  the  crossing  police- 
man guards  the  fast  moving  crowd.  As  I  rode  down  over  the 
calf  paths  I  was  filled  with  that  joy  because  I  had  been  able  to 
sing  a  song  of  appreciation  for  the  soldiers  that  had  been 
prostituted  in  the  war  of  the  classes  and  sing  it  into  that  con- 
spicuous place  to  the  high  court  of  the  Railway  Department, 
where  sat  the  solemn  preachers  that  were  alone  responsible 
for  the  catastrophe.  I  felt  a  satisfaction  in  having  had  an 
opportunity  to  assist  Jim  Kline  in  building  up  his  justification 


408  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

for  having  raised  his  voice  in  protest,  when  they  swarmed  the 
villages  along  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  and 
sat  down  the  tombstones  of  their  self-murdered  cause  in  the 
front  yards  of  the  storm-washed  and  cyclone-beaten  cot- 
tages of  the  soldiers  who  had  paid  the  price  for  the  principle 
that  they  adored  most. 

I  spent  the  next  day,  Saturday,  the  16th,  looking  over 
the  Missouri  metropolis  and  absorbing  the  exhilarating  western 
ingredients  that  so  abundantly  aviates  the  atmosphere  of  this 
hillside  city.  I  frequently  made  inquiries  concerning  the  trial 
that  was  still  in  progress  at  the  court.  The  trial  only  being 
open  to  those  who  had  come  with  credentials,  I,  of  course,  was 
not  an  admissible  attendant  there,  only  for  the  time  I  appeared 
as  a  witness  for  Mr.  Kline.  You  might  ask  or  wish  to  know 
why  such  a  trial  conducted  in  the  courts  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  organized  labor  should  not  be  conducted  as  the  courts  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  government;  that  is,  keep 
the  doors  open  for  those  who  care  to  sit  in  and 
listen  to  the  trial  throughout  the  entire  proceedings, 
if  they  so  desire,  and  give  them  the  opportunity 
to  fortify  themselves  with  such  knowledge  that  would  best 
enable  them  to  come  forth  with  the  truth  and  depart  with  all 
the  knowledge  of  the  trial.  And  I  regret  very  much  that  I  am 
compelled  to  say  that  the  courts  under  the  jurisdictions  of 
organized  labor  have  not  as  yet  advanced  to  that  stage  of 
fairness  of  holding  their  trials  where  those  who  pay  the  taxes 
for  its  very  existence  can  come  in  and  absorb  any  information 
regarding  its  proceedings. 

On  Saturday  evening  I  met  one  of  my  very  dear  friends, 
who  had  occupied  a  conspicuous  seat  with  the  rebel  delegation 
during  my  exhibition  at  court.  He  slipped  me  the  glad  mit, 
with  sincere  rays  of  magnetism  protruding  from  his  eyes.  His 
name  is  Frank  Donovan,  and  he  served  on  the  jury  as  a  dele- 
gate from  a  school  of  Sheet  Metal  Workers  from  the  Ever- 
green City  that  grew  up  along  the  Chicago  and  Alton  in  the 
corn-belt  section  of  Illinois  and  is  well  known  as  Bloomington. 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      409 

I  inquired  of  him  as  to  the  progress  of  the  trial,  and  he  pre- 
dicted that  the  verdict  would  be  reached  early  next  week,  and 
expressed  himself  as  satisfied  that  the  strikers  had  been  trimmed, 
and  trimmed  very  shamefully.  Mr.  Donovan  said  that  he  was 
to  board  a  train  for  the  Evergreen  and  invited  me  to  accom- 
pany him  on  the  trip.  Having,  of  course,  fulfilled  my  mission 
at  K.  C.  and  realizing  that  the  trip  to  Evergreen  would  bring 
me  in  close  proximity  of  my  loop  circuit  at  Fort  Dearborn, 
I  readily  accepted  the  generous  invitation  of  my  rebel  friend, 
and  he  gave  the  engineer  of  the  approaching  trolley  the  accus- 
tomed high  sign,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  seated  on  one 
of  the  Alton's  moving  palaces,  whose  destination  was  the  Canal 
Street  Station  in  Chicago. 

As  the  train  was  slowly  finding  its  route  out  of  the  terminal 
switches,  my  generous  friend,  Mr.  Donovan,  again  displayed 
his  excessive  pressure  of  generosity  by  inviting  me  to  j  oin  him 
as  his  guest  in  the  dining  car;  this,  of  course,  I  accepted  with 
the  same  pleasure  that  is  so  conspicuous  upon  the  boys  at  the 
railroad  shops  when  the  engineer  opens  up  the  whistle  for 
lunch  time.  As  we  sat  there  debating  on  the  percentage  of 
food  ingredients  in  the  vegetables  and  other  food  varieties 
that  the  colored  waiter  had  come  forth  with  so  abundantly,  my 
friend  carelessly  dropped  the  subject  under  discussion  and 
commenced  to  render  decisions  regarding  the  labor  exposition 
that  we  left  behind  in  Kansas  City,  and  by  the  time  he  had 
politely  admonished  me  for  drinking  the  water  out  of  the 
finger  bowl  we  had  reached  some  interesting  subjects  that  had 
come  up  on  the  first  day  of  the  proceedings. 

Having  executed  our  dining  room  engagement,  we  took 
possession  of  a  comfortable  seat  in  one  of  the  coaches  ahead, 
and  after  igniting  a  cigar  case  demonstrator  of  the  South 
American  product,  the  subject  that  suffered  partial  dissolution 
on  our  excursion  from  the  dining  car  to  our  occupied  cushioned 
seats,  was  again  reintroduced  and  we  sat  there  in  the  perfume 
of  the  smoke-covered  atmosphere,  through  the  long  hours  of 
the  night,  discussing  the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  burlesque 


410  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

that  we  had  left  behind  at  K.  C.  As  the  train  slowly  stopped 
on  what  we  thought  was  to  give  the  Hoger  an  opportunity 
to  go  down  and  screw  down  his  grease-plugs,  we  were  sur- 
prised to  find  that  we  had  arrived  in  the  Evergreen  City,  where 
the  engineer  was  turning  his  train  over  to  a  waiting  crew,  and 
so  we  stepped  off  while  my  friend  was  still  expressing  himself 
that  he  was  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  time  had  moved  so 
swiftly  that  we  had  already  reached  our  destination. 

I  was  glad  to  be  in  the  Evergreen  City,  for  here  I  had 
some  very  dear  friends.  Many  of  the  strikers  had  chosen  this 
as  their  home  to  face  the  world  again  in.  This  is  the  city  that 
has  given  to  the  stage  Margaret  Illington,  and  to  honest  people 
Jimmy  Meagher,  the  dearest  friend  I  ever  had ;  Jimmy  stuck 
with  me  when  I  was  deserted  by  Business  Agent  Molloy  and 
his  war  cabinet  of  District  No.  21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  and  it  was 
largely  through  his  efforts  that  we  were  successful  in  building 
up  a  Federation  and  maintaining  an  organization  in  the  face 
of  all  organized  opposition,  and  when  Willie  went  to  jail,  big- 
hearted  Jimmy  Meagher  always  drove  in  to  manage  the  "rebels' 
nest."  And  here  was  Louis  Nicholson,  who  burned  the  mid- 
night oil  as  the  circulation  manager  on  the  Strike  Bulletin 
all  through  its  stormy  career ;  good  old  honest  John  Mathews, 
Mark  Carr,  Michael  Monahan,  Bart  Conley  and  a  hundred 
of  other  strikers  who  played  their  part  in  the  social  whirlpool, 
and  played  it  with  credit  to  themselves  and  the  cause  that 
makes  the  paths  of  progress. 

The  Sheet  Metal  Club  and  those  who  were  members  of  that 
school  whose  profession  it  is  to  put  artistic  curvatures  in  the 
pipes  that  carry  the  fluids  for  the  great  nervous  system  of  a 
locomotive  had  advance  notice  that  their  representative,  Mr. 
Donovan,  was  to  drive  in  over  Sunday  to  give  them  an  ora- 
torical synopsis  of  the  "Passing  Show"  at  Kansas  City.  A 
full  congregation  from  this  profession  gathered  during  a 
specified  hour  in  the  morning  and  the  artist,  Mr.  Donovan, 
projected  his  mental  film  collection  of  the  Kansas  City  court 
on  the  atmospheric  curtains  surrounding  his  audience.  After 


JIM  KLINE'S  TRIAL  AT  KANSAS  CITY      411 

the  operator  had  revoluted  his  fourteen  reel  feature  of  the 
things  as  they  "happened  to  happen"  down  at  the  Missouri 
metropolis,  scattered  delegations  of  the  fraternity  were  seen 
standing  around  discussing  their  astonishment  over  the  very 
nudeness  of  the  situation,  and  after  the  performance  a  large 
delegation  of  the  arists,  including  Donovan,  called  at  my 
"inn"  on  the  avenue,  and  the  glad  mit  of  comradeship  dis- 
played itself  from  everywhere. 

I  spent  Sunday  afternoon  as  the  guest  of  my  very  dear 
friends,  Jimmy  Meagher  and  Louis  Nicholson,  and  at  a  respec- 
table hour  of  the  evening  I  was  informed  that  apartments  had 
been  prearranged  for  me  in  a  cozy  little  caboose  that  was  about 
to  leave  the  yards  with  a  manifest  train  of  meat,  beer  and  mer- 
chandise for  Chicago,  which,  of  course,  was  appreciated  accom- 
modations for  a  cosmopolitan  like  myself,  who  was  obliged  to 
travel  in  compliance  with  the  most  careful  respect  to  economy 
of  funds.  After  a  cordial  reception  from  the  crew  of  the  little 
red  caboose,  whose  interior  was  decorated  like  the  show  win- 
dows of  Michigan  Boulevard  with  a  large  display  of  the 
artist's  art  from  Sarah  Bernhardt  to  September  Morn,  I  en- 
joyed a  pleasant  chat  with  the  members  of  the  crew,  after 
which  I  was  introduced  by  the  captain  to  a  specially  prepared 
cot,  made  up  of  feather  cushions  and  pillows.  And  as  my 
friend  Donovan  had  kept  me  awake  during  the  previous  night 
with  his  entertaining  conversation,  I  accepted  the  captain's 
kind  offer  with  all  the  gracefulness  of  a  southern  gentleman, 
and  I  slept  here  uninterruptedly  while  the  little  red  caboose 
trailed  its  train  through  the  woods  and  over  the  valleys  into 
Van  Buren  Street,  Chicago,  where  I  left  it,  the  kind  captain 
and  his  crew  with  a  grateful  farewell. 


PART  VI 

JOHNSTON  TAKES  REVENGE  BY  EX- 
COMMUNICATING CARL  PERSON 
FROM  THE  INTERNATIONAL  AS- 
SOCIATION  OF  MACHINISTS  WITH- 
OUT  A  TRIAL. 

EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL 

THE  trial  at  Kansas   City  left  the  heavy  burdens  of 
defeat  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  Wharton-Johnston 
machine.     Mr.  Kline  won  his  case  and  proved  that  the 
strikers  had  been  trimmed,  and  that  the  money  was  there  for 
those  who  would  take  it.    The  Blacksmiths'  organization  that 
was  threatened  with  expulsion  from  the  Railway  Department 
had  Mr.  Kline  failed  to  make  good  his  charges,  were  now 
secure  in  their  seats  within    the    chambers   of  the  Railway 
Department. 

Mr.  Johnston  was  a  hard  loser,  and  started  out  to  seek 
revenge.  The  night  after  the  verdict  it  was  pretty  well  whis- 
pered around  the  Edwards  Hotel  that  if  I  had  not  come  down 
as  a  witness  for  President  Kline,  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  delega- 
tion would  have  won.  For  this  I  was  considered  an  unworthy 
brother.  The  next  day  one  of  the  payroll  patriots  was  dele- 
gated to  collect  the  expressions  of  the  members  of  Johnston's 
delegation,  as  well  as  their  signatures  to  a  document  requesting 
my  expulsion  from  the  Mother  Church  in  Washington.  Need- 
less to  mention,  this  met  with  the  accumulated  approval  of  the 
Johnston  delegation  and  some  of  the  other  delegations  that 
had  come  in  for  their  jolts  during  my  exhibition  at  court. 

413 


414  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

You  can  better  understand  the  welcome  that  this  met  with, 
if  I  tell  you  that  Mr.  Ryan,  President  of  the  Carmen,  as  good 
as  admitted  during  the  trial  that  he  made  the  statement  that 
I  should  have  been  hanged.  And  it  is  alleged  that  Mr.  John- 
ston also  stated  I  should  have  received  at  least  fourteen  years 
over  the  river  for  a  little  matter  that  came  up  during  the 
strike,  in  which  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  politicians  of 
DeWitt  County,  Illinois,  were  the  prosecution.  Had  the  poli- 
ticians and  the  railroad  company  been  successful  in  this  case, 
then  the  International  Presidents  would  not  have  met  with  the 
opposition  I  brought  to  bear  against  them  during  the  strike, 
and  I  would  not  have  had  the  opportunity  to  come  to  Kansas 
City  as  a  witness  for  Mr.  Kline.  Therefore  the  sad  regrets 
from  Mr.  Ryan  and  Mr.  Johnston,  as  well  as  the  payroll 
patriots. 

Shortly  after  the  Kansas  City  trial,  Lodge  No.  342, 1.  A. 
of  M.,  at  Bloomington,  111.,  where  I  held  my  membership,  was 
notified  that  I  had  been  suspended  from  the  Machinists'  and 
for  them  not  to  accept  any  further  dues  from  me,  stating 
that  on  account  of  my  disgraceful  action  during  the  trial  at 
Kansas  City  I  stood  suspended  from  the  Association.  When 
this  news  arrived  at  the  camps  of  the  strike-breakers,  along 
the  roads  that  had  been  on  strike  (the  scabs  who  now  had  the 
privilege  of  becoming  brothers  for  a  dollar  and  a  half),  there 
was  as  much  rejoicing  among  them  as  there  was  when  the 
Railway  Department  took  them  off  the  unfair  list  of  organ- 
ized labor  by  declaring  the  strikes  off,  and  in  their  estimation 
the  legal  department  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  distin- 
guished States  Attorney,  Mr.  Orlando  Williams  of  DeWitt 
County,  were  considered  small  men  and  institutions  compared 
with  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  "machine,"  who  had  been  successful 
in  getting  me  at  last,  when  others  had  failed.  Had  the  grand 
chiefs  been  wise  enough  to  have  the  crew  of  their  "Autumn 
Drive"  around  the  bull  pens  at  the  time  of  the  breaking  of  this 
good  news,  they  could  have  pulled  off  a  successful  revival  and 
christened  many  of  the  whitewashed  scabs  in  the  I.  A.  of  M., 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL     415 

for  then  Mr.  Johnston's  reputation  was  established  among  the 
bull  pen  fraternity,  and  it  is  well  conceded  that  at  this  time  a 
good  many  of  the  scabs  sent  in  their  dollar  and  a  half  and 
received  the  iron  cross. 

President  Johnston  can  best  explain  the  action  he  took  after 
being  defeated  in  Kansas  City,  therefore  we  will  hear  direct 
from  him,  which  reads  as  follows : 

INTERNATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   MACHINISTS 
Office  of  the  President. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  23,  1916. 
ME.  CARL  PERSON, 

Care  of  R.  S.  No.  342. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Please  find  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter  I  have 
this  day  written  Lodge  No.  342,  which  I  trust  you  will  consider  equally 
addressed  to  you. 

With  best  wishes,  I  arn, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

International  President. 


INTERNATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   MACHINISTS 
Office  of  the  President. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  23,  1916. 
MR.  A.  E.  MONTEITH, 

R.  S.  No.  342. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  At  the  recent  convention  of  the  Railway 
Employees'  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  Brother  Carl  E.  Person,  a 
member  of  Lodge  No.  342,  repeatedly  charged  our  Association  with  hav- 
ing confiscated  money  that  should  have  been  used  for  strike  purposes. 
These  charges  were  made  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  the  money  in  the 
Grand  Lodge  treasury,  all  the  money  raised  through  assessments  and 
borrowed  from  our  lodges  or  individuals,  was  given  to  our  members  in  the 
way  of  benefits.  No  organization  in  the  history  of  the  labor  movement 
went  to  such  lengths  to  raise  money  to  finance  the  long-drawn-out  strikes 
on  the  I.  C.  and  Harriman  Lines  as  we  did. 

In  spite  of  what  the  organization  did,  Brother  Person  has  persist- 
ently charged  us  with  confiscating — which  means  misappropriating 
— funds.  He  has  not  only  said  it  to  our  members  and  locals,  but  has 
heralded  it  broadcast  to  the  world.  He  read  to  the  convention,  as  he  has 
read  elsewhere,  official  letters  from  our  organization.  The  obligation  our 
members  take  is  that  they  will  keep  to  themselves  all  business  matters 
of  the  Association  entrusted  to  them.  In  spite  of  the  obligation  taken, 
Person  goes  forth  and  tells  the  world  at  large  the  business  affairs  of  our 
Association,  which  concerns  only  our  membership. 


416  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

His  conduct  was  so  disgraceful  at  the  convention  that  many  of  our 
delegates  requested  to  know  how  long  we  were  going  to  tolerate  such  a 
character  within  our  ranks  and  demanded  he  be  suspended  from  mem- 
bership. 

We  have  long  considered  the  advisability  of  suspending  Person,  but 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  involved  in  trouble  have  refrained  from 
taking  any  action,  but  the  time  has  now  come  when  we  cannot  permit  him 
or  any  other  individual  to  make  such  false  and  slanderous  statements 
about  the  officers  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  and  retain  membership  therein. 

Therefore,  by  the  power  vested  in  me  in  the  constitution,  I  suspend 
Carl  E.  Person  from  membership,  and  your  lodge  is  instructed  to  receive 
no  further  dues  from  him  after  this  date. 

This  matter  was  discussed  at  our  meeting  of  the  G.  E.  B.  and  I 
advised  the  board  the  action  I  was  about  to  take,  and  they  concurred  in 
such  action,  as  the  minutes  of  the  board,  under  date  of  May  9th,  will 
show.  I  am  sending  a  copy  of  this  letter  to  Person  in  your  care. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  fraternally, 

(Signed)     WM.  H.  JOHNSTON, 

International  President. 


President  Johnston's  foregoing  letter  is  the  best  evidence 
in  my  possession  that  I  served  the  common  cause  during  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike,  and  at  the  Kansas 
City  Convention  as  well.  I  am  happy  to  know  that  I  grad- 
uated from  a  four-year  course  in  that  exciting  seminary  of 
industrialism  with  the  high  honors  attached  to  my  credit  by 
President  Johnston  of  the  International  Association  of  Ma- 
chinists. 

My  credentials  from  President  Johnston  convey  the  fact 
that  I  called  his  attention  to  his  method  of  juggling  the  funds 
which  were  the  property  of  the  men  on  strike  and  charged  him 
with  confiscating  during  the  progress  of  the  strikes  and  at 
the  convention  at  Kansas  City  as  well.  I  did  not  wait  until 
several  years  after  he  had  performed  his  operations  to  inform 
him  that  he  was  misappropriating  funds,  and  he  gives  me  credit 
for  all  this. 

As  my  foregoing  diploma  states  under  President  Johnston's 
signature,  that  I  did  not  only  inform  the  members  of  the 
I.  A.  of  M  of  President  Johnston's  method  of  confiscation,  but 
"heralded  it  broadcast  to  the  world."  In  this  statement  Presi- 
dent Johnston  flatters  me,  and  gives  me  more  credit  than  I  am 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    417 

entitled  to,  as  I  was  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  my  system  of 
exposing  the  pirates  had  been  so  efficient  and  scientific  that  it 
had  reached  into  the  international  continents.  It  is  true  that 
I  was  successful  in  extending  this  campaign  of  education  over 
the  Canadian  border  and  into  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and 
while  the  legislative  commission  of  the  British  empire  that  had 
for  its  purpose  the  elimination  of  wooden  passenger  coaches 
in  Great  Britain,  Ireland  and  Wales  used  our  graveyard  edi- 
tions of  the  Strike  Bulletin  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  exhib- 
its in  procuring  legislation  that  would  compel  railroads  to 
replace  wooden  coaches  with  steel  equipment.  I  cannot  believe 
that  the  British  House  of  Commons  devoted  very  much  time 
in  debating  the  subject  on  what  grounds  President  Johnston 
took  the  right  to  confiscate  the  funds  of  the  men,  that  his 
Machinist  Convention  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  1911,  decided 
must  go  on  strike.  Even  though  this  sad  news  of  Mr.  John- 
ston's confiscating  the  funds  of  his  war  babies  had  penetrated 
the  boundary  line  of  our  allies,  it  is  absurd  to  think  for  a 
moment  that  my  newspaper  syndicate  was  so  complete  that 
I  could  sit  there  in  my  rebel  nest,  without  access  to  the  trans- 
continental cables,  the  Marconi  radiograph,  or  even  a  special 
wire  over  the  Bell  system  to  Frisco  or  New  York  and  make 
the  news  of  President  Johnston's  method  of  confiscation  so 
effective  that  it  was  "heralded  to  the  world." 

Not  wishing  to  accuse  President  Johnston  of  having  a  de- 
sire to  mislead  you,  as  he  was  preparing  my  credits,  I  wish  to 
dismiss  this  obvious  error  of  his  by  stating  that  he  over- 
exaggerated  my  qualifications  a  little  in  this  respect. 

Mr.  Johnston  further  states  that  my  conduct  in  Kansas 
City  was  disgraceful.  To  my  many  friends,  who,  like  myself, 
became  the  victims  and  paid  the  price  asked  of  us  by  the 
Davenport  Convention  of  the  Machinists  in  1911,  and  by  the 
declarations  as  outlined  by  President  Johnston  as  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  International  Association  of  Machinists ;  to  you  I 
submit  President  Johnston's  own  testimony  as  to  my  character. 
To  stand  disgraceful  in  the  estimation  of  President  Johnston 


418  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

was  to  stand  true  to  the  principles  that  stood  in  the  very 
eve  of  being  jeopardized  during  the  Davenport  Convention, 
and  if  my  action  in  Kansas  City  in  April,  1916,  was  disgrace- 
ful because  I  defended  the  action  as  taken  by  the  Davenport 
Convention  in  1911,  then,  too,  the  Davenport  Convention  com- 
mitted a  disgraceful  act  in  calling  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strike  and  President  Johnston  as  well  by 
serving  them  in  performing  that  which  he  considered  a  dis- 
graceful act. 

My  records  here  of  undeniable  facts  should  substantiate 
that  it  was  President  Johnston  that  proved  himself  a  disgrace, 
not  only  to  the  Machinists'  organization  but  to  the  labor  move- 
ment in  general,  for  he  turned  a  traitor  to  the  labor  movement 
under  the  camouflage  of  pacifist,  he  who  eventually  surren- 
dered the  democracy  of  the  Machinists'  organization  to  the 
autocratic  decisions  of  himself  and  deserted  the  army  that  had 
become  bankrupt  while  singing  the  song — on  to  victory. 

To  stand  before  the  Kansas  City  Convention,  where  sat 
President  Johnston  and  his  delegation,  and  in  the  language  of 
the  street  call  his  attention  to  some  of  the  jobs  he  pulled  off 
during  the  strike,  which  are  a  part  of  these  records,  that  was 
disgraceful  in  the  estimation  of  President  Johnston  and  his 
delegation  of  serfs  as  well.  While  those  serfs  could  stand  to 
have  the  integrity  of  their  International  President  questioned 
by  someone  who  would  make  such  assertions  at  a  distance  of  a 
thousand  miles  or  so,  it  did  not  meet  with  their  approval  when 
I  stood  in  front  of  Mr.  Johnston  at  the  Kansas  City  Conven- 
tion and  challenged  him  to  deny  one  or  any  of  them  .  He  sat 
there  like  an  immigrant  on  Ellis  Island,  unable  to  say  a  word 
for  himself  to  justify  his  actions,  as  they  were  photographed 
during  the  progress  of  the  strike. 

We  further  find  from  the  diploma  as  presented  me  by  Presi- 
dent Johnston,  that  I  stood  suspended  from  the  I.  A.  of  M. 
without  a  trial,  and  that  his  Executive  Board  approved  of  his 
actions  in  suspending  me,  without  giving  me  a  trial,  as  per  the 
constitution  of  the  Machinist  union. 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    419 

And  again,  Mr.  Johnston  states :  "In  spite  of  the  obliga- 
tion taken,  Person  goes  forth  and  tells  the  business  affairs  of 
our  association,  which  concerns  only  our  membership."  Mr. 
Johnston  feels  somewhat  injured  because  the  sad  news  of  his 
method  of  holding  up  the  men  on  strike  had  become  an  open 
book  among  the  membership  outside  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  It 
was  fair  and  proper  that  this  information  was  conveyed  to 
them,  because  Mr.  Johnston's  operations  affected  the  Federa- 
tion as  a  whole  and  the  strike  in  general,  and  it  therefore 
became  my  duty  as  Secretary  of  the  Federation  to  sound  the 
alarm  of  approaching  danger  when  such  people  as  Mr.  John- 
ston was  undermining  its  very  foundation. 

Mr.  Johnston  in  his  letter  of  credit  to  me  wishes  to  convey 
that  had  this  information  been  confined  to  the  membership  of 
the  I.  A.  of  M.  I  would  have  been  within  the  law.  This,  how- 
ever, is  misleading,  for  while  serving  the  Machinist  District  No. 
21  as  their  Secretary  in  November,  1912,  these  records  will 
show  that  I  was  then  suspended  by  Mr.  Johnston  for  conveying 
this  information  to  the  membership  of  the  Machinists  exclu- 
sively, informing  them  that  the  funds  of  the  men  on  strike 
were  being  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 

I  could  cite  a  multitude  of  cases  to  justify  the  action  I 
took  insofar  as  conveying  what  Mr.  Johnston  is  pleased  to 
term  the  secrets  of  the  Association,  which  in  this  case  was  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Johnston  was  confiscating  the  funds  of  his  war 
babies,  and  in  other  cases  the  fact  that  he  turned  a  traitor  to 
the  men  on  strike  and  to  the  labor  movement  in  general.  This, 
of  course,  Mr.  Johnston  wanted  to  keep  a  secret  and  therefore 
termed  these  operations  the  "secrets  of  the  Association." 

I  wish  to  cite  one  particular  case  where  such  secrets  as 
contained  in  these  records  have  been  conveyed  by  other  mem- 
bers of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  Mr.  Walter  Ames,  Vice  President  of 
the  International  Association  of  Machinists,  in  a  very  inter- 
esting document,  under  date  of  March  31,  1917,  dated  in 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  in  which  Mr.  Ames  is  giving  the  secrets  of 
the  Association  a  very  interesting  airing.  Mr.  Walter  Ames  is 


420  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

one  of  Mr.  Johnston's  confidential  operators  and  a  member  of 
the  Executive  Board  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  who  approved  of  Mr. 
Johnston's  action  in  suspending  me  from  the  Association  with- 
out a  trial,  it  will  be  interesting  and  amusing  as  well  to  read  Mr. 
Ames'  document,  which  was  sent  by  him  to  all  lodges  of  the 
I.  A.  of  M.,  and  it  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  there  were 
no  charges  preferred  against  Mr.  Ames,  nor  was  he  expelled 
from  the  Association,  but  continued  in  the  capacity  as  an 
Executive  Board  member  and  Vice  President  of  the  I.  A.  of 
M.  Therefore,  let  us  meet  Mr.  Ames,  who  is  giving  the  secrets 
of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  the  following  airing : 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.  March  31,  1917. 

REPORT  OF  GENERAL  EXECUTIVE  BOARD  MEMBER  WAL- 
TER AMES,  WHICH   HAS   BEEN   DENIED   PUBLICATION 
IN  THE   APRIL  ISSUE   OF  OUR  JOURNAL,   AND 
WHICH  IS  IN  REPLY  TO  PRESIDENT  JOHN- 
STON'S MINORITY  REPORT  IN 
MARCH  JOURNAL. 

March  15,  1917. 

Editor  Journal:  President  Johnston  in  my  opinion  has  made  a  fatal 
mistake  by  resorting  to  our  Journal  in  print,  airing  another  Grand  Lodge 
official  family  dispute  he  has  just  taken  on  with  three  members  of  the 
General  Executive  Board,  which  has  been  published  on  pages  261,  262, 
263,  264  March  Journal,  under  the  heading,  "Minority  Report." 

I  would  willingly  defray  the  expense  of  sending  this  report  out  to 
the  members  by  circular  letter  if  there  was  a  chance  of  it  reaching  the 
same  publicity  among  our  members  as  did  the  so-called  minority  report, 
but  that  is  not  possible;  therefore,  I  am  compelled  to  send  my  reply 
through  the  columns  of  our  Journal  in  justice  to  myself. 

After  concluding  the  Grand  Lodge  family  wrangle  at  the  Baltimore 
Convention,  and  Brothers  Hannon,  Keppler  and  myself  came  on  the 
G.  E.  B.  as  new  board  members,  I  honestly  thought  everything  would  go 
along  harmoniously  in  the  official  family  in  the  conduct  of  our  official 
business,  and  seemingly  everything  did  go  along  nicely  until  we  got  onto 
the  ropes  and  pried  the  lid  off  from  several  matters  which  didn't  seem 
just  right,  and  just  that  soon  we  met  strenuous  opposition. 

We  found  the  three  new  members  of  the  board  were  being  side- 
tracked, ignored  and  not  consulted  on  many  important  subjects.  We 
learned  that  President  Johnston  was  calling  many  strikes  at  an  expendi- 
ture of  hundreds  and  thousands  of  dollars  to  the  organization,  without 
even  consulting  the  board,  let  alone  getting  the  approval  of  the  board, 
as  per  our  constitutional  laws. 

We  found  he  had  been  appointing  special  organizers  and  business 
agents  at  an  added  expense  to  our  organization,  without  even  informing 
the  board  or  getting  their  approval  as  per  our  constitutional  laws. 

We  found  that  he  had  been  making  a  loaning  agency  out  of  our 
headquarters  treasury  by  giving  this  fellow  and  that  fellow  member  a  five 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    421 

or  a  ten  as  he  would  happen  along  to  visit  headquarters,  which  is  in  viola- 
tion of  our  constitutional  laws,  and  evidently  some  of  these  fellows  were 
impressed  with  President  Johnston's  financial  system,  and  they  would 
repeat  their  visits  some  two  or  three  times,  thinking  it  was  easy  money. 
Look  over  schedule  No.  2,  page  140,  auditors'  report,  February  Journal. 
We  found  organizers  out  on  the  road  jumping  from  place  to  place 
doing  political  work  at  a  big  financial  loss  and  expense  to  our  organiza- 


tion. 


We  found  that  President  Johnston  was  sending  the  special  organ- 
izers out,  giving  specific  instruction  to  do  political  work  in  getting  nomi- 
nations and  votes  so  as  to  defeat  Brother  George  Preston  as  General 
Secretary-Treasurer.  . 

We  also  found  that  our  Grand  Lodee  headquarters  office  was  being 
used  to  hold  political  meetings  by  Grand  Lodge  officers,  special  organ- 
izers and  others  in  attendance  to  line  up  and  frame  up  the  dope  for  the 
election  and  defeat  of  Grand  Lodge  officers.  .,*«.«•.  „„«, 

We  also  found  from  the  advanced  financial  statement  for  the  month 
ending  Jan.  31  that  the  amount  of  $9,659.50  was  paid  out  to  our  worthy 
striking  brothers  over  the  country,  as  against  $11,761.80  paid  to  special 

0rSawTrequested  ^n'  official  report  of  the  travels  and  expenses  for  the 
past  three  months  of  all  our  43  special  organizers,  and  we  were  astoi 
feed  at  the  extravagance  and  waste  of  money  on  the  majority  of  these 
reports  furnished  from  our  Grand  Lodge  records.    I  will  ins  ert  for  your 


repors    urnse      rom  our  . 

consideration  one  of  these  reports  which  is  a  fair  sample  of  many 

and  will  then  ask  you  how  organizing  work  can  be  done  effectively 

jumping  over  the  country  as  follows: 

No.  196. 

May   28.  From  Sandusky  to  Dayton. 

May   29.  From  Dayton  to  Indianapolis. 

May   30.  From  Indianapolis  to  Dayton. 

May   31.  From  Dayton  to  Columbus. 

June    1.  From  Columbus  to  Piqua. 

June     1.  From  Piqua  to  Urbana. 

June    2.  From  Urbana  to  Dayton. 

June    2.  From  Dayton  to  Cincinnati  and  return. 

No.  197. 

June    4.  From  Dayton  to  Toledo. 

June    5.  From  Toledo  to  Bucyrus. 

June    7.  From  Bucyrus  to  Lima. 

June    8.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus. 

June    8.  From  Bucyrus  to  Springfield. 

June    9.  From  Springfield  to  Piqua. 

June    9.  From  Piqua  to  Dayton. 

June  10.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

No.  198. 

June  11.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus. 

June  12.  From  Bucyrus  to  Lima. 

June  13.  From  Lima  to  Piqua. 

June  13.  From  Piqua  to  Dayton. 

June  14.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

June  15.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus. 


422  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

June  15.  From  Bucyrus  to  Columbus. 

June  16.  From  Columbus  to  Dayton. 

No.  199. 

June  18.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

June  19.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus  and  return. 

June  20.  From  Lima  to  Piqua. 

June  20.  From  Piqua  to  Dayton. 

June  21.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

June  22.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus. 

June  23.  From  Bucyrus  to  Dayton. 

No.  200. 

June  25.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

June  26.  From  Lima  to  Piqua. 

June  27.  From  Piqua  to  Dayton. 

June  28.  From  Dayton  to  Lima. 

June  29.  From  Lima  to  Bucyrus. 

June  30.  From  Bucyrus  to  Dayton. 

July     1.  From  Dayton  to  Baltimore. 
No.  201. 

July     5.  From  Baltimore  to  Toledo. 

July     6.  From  Toledo  to  Dayton. 

*  Note— Pleasure  trip  made  to  Indianapolis  and  expenses  incurred 
attending  automobile  races. 

If  space  would  permit,  I  would  insert  a  list  of  travels  of  many  other  1 
organizers  which  was  obtained  from  our  Grand  Lodge  records  showing 
the  extravagance  and  wasting  of  our  organization's  funds. 

Our  membership  should  demand  their  Recording  Secretary  to  read ' 
to  the  members  at  a  regular  or  special  meeting  of  that  part  of  the  printed 
minutes  of  the  General  Executive  Board  meeting  of  Feb.  5,  commencing 
on  page  13  to  page  22,  inclusive,  which  will  prove  beyond  a  question  of 
doubt  that  President  Johnston's  minority  report  in  the  March  Journal 
is  incorrect,  misleading,  and  I  believe  done  for  the  purpose  of  poisoning 
the  minds  of  our  members  against  those  members  of  the  board  who  are 
earnestly  and  sincerely  endeavoring  to  eradicate  the  wrongs  and  evils 
which  have  existed  in  our  Grand  Lodge  for  some  time  past. 

You  will  read  on  page  13  of  the  board  minutes  of  an  organizer  being 
appointed  by  President  Johnston,  advanced  one  hundred  dollars  expense 
money,  sent  out  on  the  road  before  he  had  received  his  due  book.  An- 
other organizer,  you  will  note,  was  appointed  by  President  Johnston  on 
Aug.  24th,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  records  show  he  was  initiated  into  our 
Association  Aug.  31st,  which  was  just  one  week  after  he  received  his 
appointment  to  do  organizing  work. 

Is  it  possible  that  we  cannot  find  among  our  large  membership  good, 
old-time,  faithful  members  who  are  sufficiently  qualified  to  hold  these 
coveted  positions  as  special  organizers,  which  now  pays  a  salary  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  month,  with  an  allowance  of  three  and  one- 
half  dollars  per  day  for  hotel  expenses,  also  railroad  fare  and  incidental 
expenses,  without  having  to  go  on  the  outside  and  appoint  men  who  do 
not  and  never  did  belong  to  the  I.  A.  of  M. 

President  Johnston  in  his  minority  report  accuses  me  of  disregarding 
the  rules  of  propriety  and  committing  a  breach  of  etiquette  by  informing 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL     423 

the  members  at  meeting  of  Lodge  No.  174  of  what  had  occurred  at  a 
meeting  of  the  board,  and  that  he  (President  Johnston)  addressed  the 
meeting  and  denied  the  truth  of  my  statements.  I  wish  to  say  that  twice 
did  I  decline  the  request  of  the  President  of  Lodge  174  to  address  the 
meeting,  and  it  was  only  after  all  members  of  the  General  Executive 
Board  had  taken  the  floor,  addressing  the  meeting  at  some  length,  did  I 
consent  to  speak,  and  then  only  after  the  insistent  request  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  lodge  and  the  members  around  the  lodge  room.  However,  as 
to  the  propriety  and  etiquette  part  of  President  Johnston's  charge,  it  is 
my  opinion  the  membership  should  know  what  is  going  on,  and  the 
sooner  they  know  more  about  what  is  going  on  in  our  Grand  Lodge  and 
the  Association  at  large,  the  better  off  will  be  the  I.  A.  of  M. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed)     WALTER  AMES, 
Members  of  General  Executive  Board. 

Note — Lodges  No.  511,  No.  161,  No.  910  being  conversant  with  the 
above  stated  facts,  have  approved  and  endorsed  same,  and  has  insisted 
on  Board  Member  Walter  Ames  sending  this  matter  out  in  circular  form 
to  the  membership  at  large. 

From  Executive  Board  Member  Ames  we  learn  that  he  is 
giving  the  secrets  of  the  Association  quite  an  airing.  And 
further,  that  Mr.  Johnston  is  charged  by  Mr.  Ames  of  having 
given  the  secrets  of  the  Association  an  airing  himself  in  the 
March  issue  of  the  Machinists'  Journal  for  1917,  pages  261, 
262,  263,  264.  If  these  people  were  justified  in  airing  the 
secrets  of  the  Association  in  the  four  corners  of  the  continent 
in  a  political  feud  in  1917,  when  the  only  things  at  stake  were 
the  political  aspirations  of  Johnston  and  Ames,  then  was  I  not 
justified  in  sounding  the  danger  alarm  in  1912  and  for  several 
years  subsequent,  when  the  morality  of  the  entire  labor  move- 
ment was  at  stake  and  the  jobs  of  thirty-eight  thousand  men 
as  well? 

Vice  President  Ames  had  at  one  time  or  another  violated 
the  confidence  of  the  campaign  manager  of  the  Johnston 
political  machine,  and  when  the  pre-election  slates  were  ar- 
ranged, Mr.  Ames  failed  to  receive  favorable  mention.  This 
condition  of  affairs  aggravated  Mr.  Ames  to  such  a  serious 
extent  that  for  several  weeks  in  the  early  part  of  1917  he 
started  out  to  "spill  the  beans"  and  appointed  himself  an 
apostle  of  a  reform  movement.  It  will  be  necessary  to  make 
you  better  acquainted  with  Mr.  Ames. 


424  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Mr.  Ames  was  Vice  President  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  in  1911. 
He  was  assigned  to  handle  the  strikes  on  the  Union  Pacific, 
Oregon  Short  Line,  and  the  Oregon-Washington  Railroad  and 
Navigation  Company,  which  were  the  northern  part  of  the 
Harriman  Lines  ordered  out  on  strike  in  September,  1911,  by 
the  Davenport  Convention  of  the  I.  A.  of  M.  How  well  he 
served  the  men  on  strike  and  the  Association  he  was  working 
for  can  be  best  understood  by  quoting  Mr.  Ames  himself,  while 
in  conference  with  President  L.  M.  Hawver  of  District  No. 
21,  I.  A.  of  M.,  at  Clark  and  Adams  Streets,  Chicago,  in  the 
early  part  of  1916,  in  which  he  said  in  substance:  "That  he 
was  not  in  favor  of  the  strikes;  did  everything  he  could  to 
prevent  them  taking  place ;  that  the  men  who  went  on  strike 
were  nothing  but  an  aggregation  of  irresponsibles,  and  that 
the  Association  was  not  going  to  stand  for  that  which  was  said 
against  the  General  Officers." 

It  can  now  be  better  understood  why  the  strike  was  lost, 
when  we  had  vice  presidents  like  Walter  Ames,  with  authority 
on  the  lines,  that  were  against  the  strike.  How,  then,  could 
he  put  the  necessary  initiative  and  enthusiasm  in  the  move- 
ment to  make  it  effective?  And  in  view  of  this,  he  was  not  big 
enough  to  resign  or  take  a  territory  off  the  struck  lines  where 
conditions  were  such  that  they  met  with  his  approval,  and 
thereby  give  the  men  on  strike  the  benefit  of  having  some- 
one on  the  line  that  they  could  look  to  for  real  leadership, 
someone  that  would  have  put  a  sincere  and  earnest  effort  in 
the  fight. 

For  two  or  three  years  Mr.  Ames  remained  on  the  strike 
zone  as  the  General  Manager  of  the  Association,  during  which 
time  he  sat  idly  by  and  saw  the  movement  gradually  die.  As 
Jack  Buckalew  mentioned  in  one  of  his  letters,  after  visiting 
Omaha  in  1912:  "I  am  sorry  to  see  so  little  interest  in  the 
movement  out  here  on  the  Harriman  Lines."  This  was  in 
Walter  Ames'  territory.  With  conditions  as  degenerate  as 
they  were  in  the  strike  zone,  Walter  Ames  never  raised  his 
voice  in  protest ;  first,  because,  as  he  admitted,  he  was  against 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL     425 

the  strike,  and  second,  he  knew  the  attitude  of  the  administra- 
tion in  Washington  regarding  the  strike,  and  did  not  dare  to 
say  anything  at  the  time  that  would  interfere  with  his  friendly 
relations  with  the  machine. 

But  now  that  Ames  did  not  receive  favorable  mention  as 
a  slate  member  on  the  Johnston  underground  political  machine, 
and  his  seat  as  a  commissioned  officer  of  the  Association  was 
placed  in  jeopardy,  then  Mr.  Ames  himself  joins  what  he  once 
was  pleased  to  term  the  irresponsibles  and  airs  the  secrets  of 
the  Association.  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  statements  and 
charges  as  made  by  Mr.  Ames  in  his  foregoing  letter  of  March 
31,  1917,  and  I  cannot  guarantee  their  truthfulness,  for  Mr. 
Ames'  record  as  taken  from  the  blue  prints  of  the  strike  indi- 
cates that  his  word  is  not  worth  one  iota  more  than  the  rest  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  officers. 

There  is,  however,  one  thing  certain,  and  that  is  that  Mr. 
Ames  aired  the  secrets  of  the  Association,  and  as  he  was  not 
expelled  for  airing  same,  he  either  made  Mr.  Johnston  an 
acceptable  apology,  or  Mr.  Johnston  has  overreached  on  his 
constitutional  authority  in  suspending  me  from  the  association 
for  violating  the  same  obligation  that  Mr.  Ames  apparently 
violated. 

Bloomington  Lodge  No.  342,  where  I  held  my  membership 
in  the  Association,  protested  against  Mr.  Johnston's  action 
in  regard  to  my  suspension,  and  requested  him  to  give  me  a  trial 
as  outlined  in  the  constitution,  that  is,  to  prefer  his  charges 
against  me,  through  their  lodge,  and  set  a  date  for  the  trial, 
then  come  and  prove  his  charges  and  give  me  an  opportunity 
to  put  up  a  defense.  But,  of  course,  Mr.  Johnston  paid  no 
attention  to  their  demand  upon  him,  for  this  would  have  put 
him  up  against  the  same  danger  line  that  he  had  to  stand  up 
against  so  shamefully  with  his  delegation  in  Kansas  City  in 
the  trial  of  "Johnston  vs.  Kline,"  and,  again,  he  would  be 
taking  a  chance  to  win  or  lose.  In  my  case  he  was  going  to 
play  the  safe  side,  give  me  no  trial,  regardless  of  what  speci- 
fications the  constitution  may  carry  on  this  subject. 


426  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Why  President  Kline  and  the  Blacksmiths'  organization 
should  be  granted  a  trial  in  Kansas  City,  I  am  unble  to  under- 
stand, when  decisions  can  be  handed  down  without  trials  or  any 
respect  for  established  rudiments  of  law.  However,  in  the 
Blacksmiths'  organization  there  was  some  financial  strength. 
This  would  have  been  pressed  into  service  for  President  Kline 
had  not  a  trial  been  conceded  to  him,  and  Mr.  Johnston  was 
well  aware  of  the  fact  that  back  of  me  was  nothing  but  an 
independent  and  liberty-loving  mind,  that  would  ask  for  no 
favors  and  give  none.  Should  the  same  partiality  be  shown 
by  a  judge  of  the  civil  courts,  as  the  partiality  shown  Presi- 
dent Kline  of  the  Blacksmiths  by  Mr.  Johnston  compared  to 
myself,  because  back  of  Kline  was  an  organization  and  money, 
and  back  of  me  was  neither  money  nor  organized  effort.  Then 
imagine,  if  you  can,  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  payroll  patriots 
that  make  up  the  "machine"  shaking  their  auburn  locks  and 
protruding  their  hands  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  lodge  rooms 
and  pulpits  of  this  country,  calling  for  a  revolution  as  a  pos- 
sible means  of  protest  against  the  apparent  injustice.  But, 
when  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  "machine"  pull  off  a  job  of  this 
nature,  that  no  judge  in  the  civil  courts  would  dare  to  do,  then 
such  is  accepted  as  the  law  and  a  legitimate  transaction. 

Having  been  informed  that  Bloomington  Lodge  No.  342, 
I.  A.  of  M.,  had  written  a  letter  to  President  Johnston  demand- 
ing that  I  be  given  a  trial  in  compliance  with  the  Machinist 
constitution,  I  wrote  them  the  following  letter : 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  July  31,  1916. 
Ma.  ED.  MCCLELLAND, 

103  E.  Walnut  St.,  Bloomington,  111. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  I  am  herewith  enclosing  you  one  dollar  for 
dues  for  the  month  of  July,  1916. 

I  note  from  your  letter  of  June  the  13th  that  Lodge  No.  342  will 
decline  to  carry  out  President  Johnston's  order  of  expulsion,  until  the 
International  President  grants  me  a  trial  as  per  the  constitution. 

I  am  glad  to  know  that  I  hold  membership  in  a  lodge  that  demands 
the  constitutional  protection  for  its  members.  I  am, 

Fraternally  yours, 

(Signed)     CARL  E.  PEBSON. 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    427 

The  following  letter  is  a  reply  from  the  Secretary  of 
Lodge  No.  342, 1.  A.  of  M. : 

BLOOMINGTON,  ILL.,  Aug.  1,  1916. 
CABL  PERSON. 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  31st  in  which 
you  enclosed  $1.00  and  due  book  in  payment  of  July  dues,  will  say  that 
I  am  compelled  to  return  same  to  you,  because  we  fear  that  our  lodge 
will  be  suspended  if  we  do  not  comply  with  President  Johnston's 
instructions. 

I  regret,  as  does  every  other  member  of  No.  342,  the  rank  injus- 
tice that  has  been  done  you — to  throw  you  out  without  a  trial,  after 
all  you  have  done  and  suffered  for  organized  labor.  Our  lodge  has 
gone  the  limit  to  get  justice  for  you.  When  Johnston  ordered  your 
expulsion  in  May,  we  protested  and  demanded  you  be  given  a  trial,  we 
also  urged  the  Executive  Board  to  see  that  you  were  given  a  square 
deal,  but  without  success. 

When  appeal  was  taken  to  Baltimore,  we  instructed  our  delegate 
to  go  the  limit  in  your  case,  which  we  believe  he  did.  He  reported 
to  us  that  a  machine  controlled  the  convention  and  that  your  matter 
was  not  given  a  fair  hearing,  the  delegates  were  kept  ignorant  of  the 
facts,  and  action  upon  our  demands  for  a  trial  for  you  was  denied  by 
steam  roller  methods.  Our  delegate  complained  he  could  not  get  a 
proper  hearing  and  your  case  was  rushed  through  at  the  tail  end  of 
the  convention. 

Now  there  is  no  doubt  that  our  whole  lodge  will  be  expelled  by 
President  Johnston  unless  we  refuse  to  take  your  dues.  I  very  much 
regret  to  have  to  return  the  $1.00  and  your  due  book  you  sent  me,  but 
in  order  to  protect  the  members  of  No.  342,  I  must  do  so.  Anyone 
who  knows  anything  about  the  case,  knows  that  it  is  an  outrage. 

With  very  best  wishes,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Your  friend, 

(Signed)     E.  R.  MCCLELLAND, 
Financial  Secretary  No.  342,  I.  A.  of  M. 

We  now  find  that  President  Johnston  threatened  to  sus- 
pend the  entire  Machinists'  Lodge  at  Bloomington,  which  is 
made  up  of  several  hundred  members,  for  questioning  Presi- 
dent Johnston's  authority  to  suspend  me  without  a  trial,  as  out- 
lined in  the  constitution.  For  fear  that  such  action  would 
be  taken,  Bloomington  Lodge  surrendered  the  right  of  a  trial 
for  its  membership.  This  was,  however,  not  the  first  time 
President  Johnston  had  threatened  to  suspend  an  organiza- 
tion for  failure  to  carry  out  his  instructions,  as  we  will  re- 
member that  Secretary  W.  A.  Moore  was  notified  that  the 
entire  membership  of  District  No.  21  would  be  expelled  from 


428  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

the  Machinists  if  that  District  co-operated  with  the  Federa- 
tion in  handling  the  strike. 

The  International  Association  of  Machinists  held  a  con- 
vention at  Baltimore  on  June  26  to  July  8,  1916,  inclusive. 
Bloomington  Lodge  No.  342,  I.  A.  of  M.,  decided  to  take 
the  matter  of  my  suspension  without  a  trial  before  the  Balti- 
more convention,  and  Mr.  J.  J.  Meagher  was  sent  as  this 
delegate,  to  lay  this  matter  before  the  convention.  Mr.  John- 
ston had,  of  course,  received  advance  notice  that  a  delegate 
was  coming  to  the  convention  from  Bloomington  and  appeal 
to  the  convention  for  a  trial  in  my  case.  As  Mr.  Johnston 
"had  before  decided  that  I  should  stand  suspended  without  a 
trial,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  patch  up  the  fences  of  his 
machine,  with  the  view  in  end  that  this  convention  would  ap- 
prove of  his  already  handed  down  decision  of  suspension  with- 
out a  trial. 

I  could  cite  several  authorities,  as  information,  regarding 
Mr.  Johnston's  process  of  patching  up  his  machine  so  that 
his  decision  of  suspension  without  a  trial  would  be  substan- 
tiated, but  let  us  accept  the  following  as  sufficient  on  this 
subject:  Mr.  A.  J.  Kearney,  who  was  a  delegate  from  Coving- 
ton,  Ky.,  representing  Lodge  No.  125,  I.  A.  of  M.,  to  the 
Baltimore  convention,  made  the  following  statement  at  a  gath- 
ering in  Peru,  Ind.,  on  April  1,  1916: 

When  I  and  my  wife  arrived  at  the  hotel  in  Baltimore  on  Sat- 
urday before  the  convention,  we  were  met  by  First  Vice  President  J.  F. 
Anderson  and  Executive  Board  Member  Savage.  As  soon  as  we  came 
in,  Anderson  asked  me  to  take  a  walk  with  him.  I  started  out  with 
Anderson  and  Savage  came  along.  The  first  thing  they  asked  me  was, 
"What  do  you  know  about  the  Person  case?"  I  told  them  that  I  did 
not  know  anything  about  the  Person  case.  Anderson  and  Savage  then 
commenced  to  tell  me  a  much  different  story  of  the  Person  case  than 
I  have  heard  here  (in  Peru,  Ind.)  this  afternoon,  and  it  was  Anderson 
and  Savage  that  gave  me  such  information  that  persuaded  me  to  vote 
against  giving  Person  a  trial.  I  knew  Anderson  from  St.  Louis  and 
had  confidence  in  him  since  our  association  in  the  Missouri,  Pacific 
and  Iron  Mountain  strikes. 

We  learned  from  Mr.  A.  J.  Kearney  something  about 
the  reception  the  delegates  were  given  in  arriving  in  Balti- 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    429 

more,  and  this  was  as  early  as  Saturday,  the  convention  not 
going  into  session  until  Monday  morning.  If  Mr.  Kearney 
was  met  upon  his  arrival  in  Baltimore  and  lined  up  on  the 
Person  case,  have  we  not  good  reasons  to  think  that  the  other 
delegates  were  also  approached  on  the  Person  case  and  lined 
up  before  the  convention  went  into  session?  Of  course,  Messrs. 
Anderson  and  Savage  were  not  the  only  committee  lining  the 
worthy  brothers  up  on  the  Person  case. 

During  the  progress  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  strikes,  Mr.  J.  F.  Anderson  drew  approximately  $7,- 
705.02  from  the  Association's  treasury,  and  in  addition,  Mr. 
Johnston  and  the  Board  were  kind  enough  to  Mr.  Anderson 
to  allow  him  to  put  in  a  bill  for  expenses  incurred  in  moving 
his  household  goods  of  $125.77,  which  was  also  charged  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  treasury  (reference,  Secretary  Preston's 
financial  reports  for  the  month  ending  June  30,  1915).  And 
Mr.  T.  J.  Savage  dug  down  into  the  treasury  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  a  little  pin  money  amounting  to  approximately 
$840.23  during  the  progress  of  the  strikes  (reference,  Secre- 
tary Preston's  financial  statements  for  1911  to  1915),  money 
some  of  which  was  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  from  the 
men  on  strike.  It  can  readily  be  understood  why  they  were 
out  lining  up  the  boys  as  early  as  Saturday  before  the  con- 
vention for  their  boss,  Mr.  Johnston. 

Mr.  Meagher,  the  delegate  to  the  convention  from  Bloom- 
ing Lodge,  can  give  us  a  little  more  information  on  the  situ- 
ation at  the  convention.  He  makes  the  following  report: 

BLOOMINGTON,  ILL.,  June  18,   1916. 
ME.  CARL  E.  PERSON, 

440  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Carl:  I  served  you  as  best  I  could  at  the  Baltimore  con- 
vention, but  there  wasn't  a  chance  to  get  justice,  as  the  cards  were 
stacked  against  you  by  the  Johnston  machine.  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the 
"slate"  which  was  arranged  by  the  machine  for  the  election  of  the 
different  committees. 

Your  case  had  to  be  taken  up  before  the  Committee  on  Appeals 
and  Grievances.  The  members  as  arranged  on  the  slate  for  this  com- 
mittee were  H.  L.  Brunson,  Lodge  No.  308;  Victor  Gauthier,  Lodge 


430  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

No.  105;  H.  W.  Harper,  Lodge  No.  438;  William  Schoenberg,  Lodge 
No.  337;  J.  Stephenson,  Lodge  No.  477.  You  will  note  by  the  min- 
utes that  all  of  the  slate  members  were  elected  as  the  Committee  on 
Appeals  and  Grievances. 

I  asked  H.  J.  Brunson,  chairman  of  this  committee,  for  a  hearing 
on  the  Person  case  at  least  five  times,  starting  immediately  after  the 
committee  had  been  elected.  The  delegates  who  wished  to  see  you 
get  a  trial  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  appear  before  the  Committee 
on  Appeals  and  Grievances  until  Friday,  June  7,  1916.  The  convention 
adjourned  June  8,  1916. 

When  the  case  was  brought  before  the  convention,  I  urged  the 
convention  to  use  common  sense,  and  at  least  be  as  fair  as  our  courts, 
who  give  everybody  and  anyone  a  trial,  regardless  what  the  charges 
are,  but  the  machine  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  this  appeal.  After  Presi- 
dent Johnston  had  finished,  I  asked  for  permission  of  the  floor,  which 
was  denied  me  by  J.  F.  Anderson,  then  acting  as  chairman  of  the 
convention. 

I  suggest  that  you  take  this  matter  into  the  civil  courts.  Surely 
a  court  of  law  would  rule  that  a  person  is  entitled  to  a  trial  in  a  labor 
organization,  especially  when  the  constitution  of  such  labor  organiza- 
tion gives  him  such  a  guarantee. 

I  am, 

Respectfully  yours, 

J.  J.  MEAGHER, 

Delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention  of  the  I.  A.  of  M., 
from  Lodge  No.  342,  of  Bloomington,  111. 

From  Delegate  Meagher  we  can  understand  that  the  ma- 
chine was  oiled  up  for  the  occasion.  We  are  now  in  a  better 
position  to  understand  the  decision  as  rendered  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Appeals  and  Grievances.  Let  us  see  who  this  com- 
mittee was,  who  was  slated  for  this  commission,  and  later  put 
over  by  the  machine. 

The  case  was  taken  up  with  the  Appeals  and  Grievances 
Committee,  a  committee  of  five  of  which  at  least  three  of 
the  members  are  main  pillars  in  the  Johnston  machine.  A 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  H.  L.  Brunson  was  elected  chair- 
man of  this  committee,  a  delegate  to  the  convention  from 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  who  also  sat  at  the  shoulders  of  Mr.  Johnston 
during  my  exhibition  in  court  at  Kansas  City.  Imagine  the 
possible  chance  of  getting  justice  from  him.  No  doubt,  he 
also  signed  the  petition  circulated  in  Kansas  City  requesting 
my  expulsion,  because  the  machine  was  defeated  there.  Should 
you  have  the  opportunity  to  make  St.  Louis  some  time,  drop 
around  and  look  at  him  from  a  distance.  He  reads  law, 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    431 

and  can  be  seen  around  Lodge  No.  308,  I.  A.  of  M.,  protest- 
ing against  the  injustice  of  the  working  class.  He  also  parades 
around  as  a  revolutionist. 

Mr.  Victor  Gauthier,  from  Lodge  No.  105,  of  Toledo, 
Ohio,  received  a  few  dollars  during  the  progress  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike,  some  of  which  was 
confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  from  the  strikers  (reference, 
Secretary  Preston's  financial  reports,  1911  to  1915),  and  is 
one  of  the  main  stems  in  the  Johnston  machine. 

Mr.  Wm.  Schoenberg,  of  Lodge  No.  337,  Chicago,  also 
drew  on  the  Grand  Lodge  treasury  during  the  strike.  He 
is  employed  as  Business  Agent  in  Chicago,  and  can  be  de- 
pended on  to  remain  loyal  to  the  machine  under  any  and  all 
circumstances.  He  can  be  seen  at  the  meetings  of  the  Chicago 
Federation  of  Labor,  protesting  against  injunctions  and  in- 
junction judges,  even  though  it  is  impossible  to  find  any 
place  a  decision  as  inconsistent  and  unjust  as  rendered  by 
himself  at  the  Baltimore  convention. 

The  following  decision  was  rendered  by  the  Committee 
of  Appeals  and  Grievances  (reference,  page  142,  Convention 
Proceedings,  I.  A.  of  M.,  1915),  and  reads  as  follows: 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON   APPEALS  AND  GRIEVANCES 

Person  Case. — The  Committee  on  Appeals  and  Grievances,  through 
the  chairman,  Delegate  Brunson  (308),  made  the  following  report  in 
regard  to  the  suspension  of  Carl  E.  Person: 

PERSON  CASE 

We,  your  committee,  having  heard  all  of  the  evidence  in  the  case 
of  the  suspension  of  Carl  E.  Person: 

First,  that  the  International  President  acted  within  the  scope  of 
authority  vested  in  his  office  when  he  decreed  the  suspension  of  the  ap- 
pellant, Carl  E.  Person. 

Second,  we  further  find  that  the  appellant,  Carl  E.  Person,  did 
make  representations  before  the  Kansas  City  convention  of  the  R.  R. 
Employes  Department  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  held  in  April  of  the  present 
year,  which  were  not  justified  nor  supported  by  facts,  and  which  were 
in  the  judgment  of  the  committee  calculated  to  do  irreparable  injury 
to  our  organization. 

We,  therefore,  believe  from  the  facts  in  the  case,  that  the  Inter- 
national President  and  General  Executive  Board  did  act  in  the  inter- 


432  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

est  of  preserving  the  integrity,  prestige  and  good  name  of  our  Asso- 
ciation, and  upon  sufficient  grounds  to  justify  such  action. 

We  therefore  recommend: 

First,  that  the  convention  sustain  the  action  of  the  International 
President  and  General  Executive  Board  in  suspending  the  appellant, 
Carl  E.  Person,  from  membership  in  our  Association,  and, 

Second,  that  such  suspension  of  the  appellant,  Carl  E.  Person,  be 
and  remain  in  full  force  and  effect  until  he  shall  submit  to  the  Gen- 
eral Executive  Board,  in  writing,  satisfactory  assurance  from  him  that 
he,  the  appellant,  shall  refrain  in  the  future  from  such  conduct  and 
shall  not  again  be  guilty  of  such  or  similar  offense,  as  was  the  subject 
of  this  investigation  and  appeal;  and  further,  that,  upon  presentation 
of  such  assurance  by  said  appellant,  in  compliance  with  the  above, 
that  the  International  President  and  General  Executive  Board  shall 
be  and  is  hereby  commanded  to  remove  such  suspension  and  reinstate 
the  said  appellant,  Carl  E.  Person,  to  full  membership  in  the  I.  A.  of  M., 
and  the  General  Executive  Board  and  International  President  shall, 
when  the  foregoing  requirements  have  been  complied  with,  cause  to  be 
sent  out  to  the  entire  membership  such  written  assurance  of  the  appel- 
lant, together  with  the  decree  removing  his  suspension  and  restoration 
of  the  said  Carl  E.  Person  to  full  membership  in  our  association. 

Committee: 

H.  L.  BRUNSON, 

Chairman. 

V.  S.  GAUTHIER, 

Secretary. 

H.  HARPER. 

JOHN  E.  STEPHENSON. 

SCHOENBERG. 


A  motion  was  made  and  seconded  that  the  report  of  the  committee 
be  adopted. 


This  committee,  through  its  chairman,  H.  L.  Brunson,  of 
St.  Louis,  says  that  I  had  made  statements  at  Kansas  City 
calculating  to  do  irreparable  injury  to  the  Association.  That 
is  and  was  true,  providing  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  "machine" 
are  the  Association.  If,  however,  the  men  that  suffered  in 
that  long  strike  and  those  who  paid  assessments  for  the  strike 
and  had  their  money  confiscated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  are  the 
Association,  then  my  calculations  were  to  benefit  the  Asso- 
ciation by  pointing  out  those  who  were  responsible  for  the 
wrecking  of  the  System  Federations  on  the  Illinois  Central 
and  Harriman  Lines. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Railway  Depart- 
ment, was  there  as  a  witness  for  Mr.  Johnston  before  this 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL     433 

committee,  and  substantiated  the  fact  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
officers  had  been  called  social  criminals  and  some  other  phrases 
used  by  me  in  Kansas  City  that  did  not  seem  to  meet  with  their 
approval.  Of  course,  there  was  nothing  said  by  Mr.  Whar- 
ton  or  Mr.  Brunson,  who  were  also  at  the  Kansas  City  trial, 
that  I  proved  in  Kansas  City  and  substantiated  by  facts 
that  the  Grand  Lodge  during  the  strike  played  the  part  of 
social  criminals,  and  because  of  this  very  fact  Mr.  Kline  of 
the  Blacksmiths  won  his  case. 

Any  aggregation  of  Grand  Lodge  officers  that  would 
"trim"  some  thirty-eight  thousand  men  in  a  strike  are  well 
worthy  of  the  name  "social  criminals."  And  we  proved  our 
case  at  Kansas  City  that  the  strikers  were  "trimmed"  and 
"trimmed"  by  their  own  Grand  Lodge  officers.  Or  why  was 
Mr.  Kline  and  the  Blacksmiths'  organization  not  expelled  from 
the  Railway  Department?  Then,  if  the  phrase  "social  crim- 
inals" was  used  in  its  proper  place,  I  am  strong  for  letting 
it  remain  there. 

If  the  convention  was  going  to  try  me  in  Baltimore,  and 
Mr.  Wharton  as  President  of  the  Railway  Department  was 
to  testify  there  from  the  other  side,  as  well  as  Mr.  Johnston 
himself,  should  not  that  convention  also  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  be  there  with  my  defense?  Assuming  that  you  were 
accused  of  robbing  a  bank  by  anyone,  and  you  found  out  that 
your  case  was  tried  yesterday,  and  you  were  convicted  and 
found  guilty  without  knowing  there  was  any  such  a  trial  on, 
what  would  you  think  ?  You  have  to  get  into  the  labor  move- 
ment to  find  such  procedure.  In  courts  of  law  it  is  required 
that  the  defendant  be  represented. 

Chairman  H.  L.  Brunson,  in  fixing  the  penalty  before  the 
convention  at  Baltimore,  however,  asks  them  to  be  very  con- 
siderate, and  this  convention  was  considerate.  They  asked  me 
to  do  something  that  President  Samuel  Gompers,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor,  was  asked  to  do  by  a  judge  on  the 
supreme  bench,  and  he  told  the  judge  that  he  would  go  to 
jail  first  before  he  would  apologize  for  a  statement  that  he 


434  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

was  justified  in  making.  Mr.  Gompers,  and  Mr.  John  Mitchell, 
formerly  President  of  the  United  Mine  Workers,  with  Frank 
Morrison,  Secretary  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
were  arrested  and  tried  for  violation  of  a  Federal  injunction 
issued  out  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1905.  These  gentlemen  were 
given  a  trial.  After  they  were  found  guilty,  the  cases  were  ap- 
pealed, and  went  through  all  the  channels  of  the  courts  up 
to  the  Supreme  Bench.  When  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  said  that  if  they  would  make  an  apology,  their 
cases  would  be  dropped,  the  decision  of  Mr.  Gompers  was 
that  making  an  apology  would  be  an  admission  of  being 
guilty,  and  he  would  go  to  jail  before  he  would  admit  being 
guilty  for  something  that  he  was  not  guilty  of. 

But  here  was  the  Machinists'  convention  in  session  at 
Baltimore,  with  a  proposition  asking  me  to  do  something 
that  Mr.  Gompers,  Mr.  Morrison  and  Mr.  Mitchell  refused 
to  do,  because  doing  such  would  be  an  admission  of  guilt.  But 
remember,  these  gentlemen  had  received  several  trials  on  their 
cases,  and  I  had  received  none.  Chairman  H.  L.  Brunson  of 
this  committee,  before  the  convention  at  Baltimore,  said  that 
they  were  not  asking  me  to  apologize,  but  send  in  written 
assurance  to  the  Executive  Board  of  the  International  Asso- 
ciation of  Machinists,  assuring  them  that  I  would  never  again 
do  that  which  I  was  accused  of  doing.  And  Mr.  Brunson 
states  this  is  not  an  apology,  simply  a  satisfactory  assurance. 
Mr.  Gompers  was  pleased  to  call  it  an  apology  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  he  was  not  even  asked  to  make  a  writ- 
ten statement  to  the  court;  simply  an  oral  promise. 

Of  course,  it  was  not  the  Supreme  Court  handling  my 
case;  in  this  event,  I  would  have  received  a  trial,  and  several 
of  them.  My  case  was  handled  by  Mr.  Johston's  well-oiled 
"machine,"  and  those  who  are  pleased  to  be  termed  as  the 
brains  of  the  labor  movement.  Their  bible  is  "the  concern 
of  one  is  the  concern  of  all,"  and  they  came  and  asked  me, 
who  had  been  hardened  by  experience,  to  do  something  that 
even  the  President  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  had 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    435 

conceded  was  disrespectful.  Asked  me  to  refrain  from  doing 
in  the  future  that  which  I  had  done  in  the  past,  and  this 
before  they  had  given  me  a  trial.  I  could  only  carry  out  such 
instructions  by  becoming  a  scab  and  by  allowing  Grand  Lodge 
officers  to  panhandle  the  labor  movement  in  which  I  was  a 
stockholder  myself.  And  this  I  refuse  to  do  at  the  behest  of 
the  Machinists'  organization  or  anyone  else.  If  I  were  as 
weak  as  all  this,  then,  of  course,  I  would  have  gone  back  to 
work  in  1911  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  sev- 
eral weeks  after  the  strike  was  called,  when  the  labor  leaders 
started  to  sing  the  song  of  a  lost  cause  and  wanted  the  cur- 
tains of  their  federated  drama  pulled  down  before  its  very 
nakedness  would  be  discovered  and  placed  to  the  test  that 
they  so  profusely  guaranteed  it  could  stand  before  the  strike 
was  called  by  them. 

The  proceedings  of  this  convention  will  show  that  there 
were  not  very  many  delegates  there  making  a  protest  against 
this  decision.  It  met  with  the  general  support  of  the  large 
majority,  supported  by  such  people  that  can  be  seen  going 
into  the  superintendent's  office  to  take  up  the  grievance  of  a 
discharged  brother  in  the  shop,  and  if  the  superintendent  is 
as  successful  in  soft-soaping  them  as  Mr.  Johnston  and  his 
"machine"  was  in  Baltimore — and  they  generally  are — then 
there  isn't  very  much  strength  in  these  pillars  that  preach 
"in  union  there  is  strength." 

I  have  tested  the  system  from  both  standpoints,  and  a  large 
portion  of  that  element  in  which  dependability  is  placed  is 
very  much  like  she,  who  was  the  queen  of  Barnum's  rough  rid- 
ers. The  boys  from  Tank  Town,  who  were  sitting  on  the  bench 
under  the  tent  eating  cracker- jack,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  she  was  the  most  beautiful  woman  they  had  ever  seen. 
Of  course,  the  boobs  never  saw  her  in  her  nightgown  in  the 
morning,  with  her  hair  hanging  on  the  chair,  her  pads  on 
the  floor,  and  her  paint  in  the  wash  basin;  therefore  they 
did  not  know  any  better;  they  judged  her  from  her  haber- 
dashery. So,  too,  the  large  element  that  get  to  conventions 


436  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

are  picked  by  the  boys  because  of  the  clothes  they  wear,  and 
the  song  they  sing ;  but,  after  all,  when  you  take  their  clothes 
off,  and  look  at  them  as  they  really  are,  put  an  emergency 
test  or  two  on  them,  you  will  find  the  large  majority  of  them 
just  like  the  queen  of  Barnum's  rough  riders,  as  she  arises  from 
her  morning's  slumber. 

There  are  only  a  few  that  will  stand  the  test — the  test  of 
time  and  endurance.  The  shrewd  politician  can  swing  them 
any  way  he  wants  to,  just  like  the  shepherd  swings  his  flock 
of  sheep  from  one  pasture  to  another.  The  politician,  of 
course,  knows  that  he  is  putting  it  over,  and  the  boys  from 
Tank  Town  think  it  is  great  when  they  fall.  All  he  has  to  do 
is  to  play  to  their  large  intelligence;  then  they  fall  and  fall 
hard,  and  sometimes  forget  all  about  their  cracker-jack  while 
they  are  on  their  way  to  the  ground. 

During  the  strike  I  unfortunately  was  arrested  a  good 
many  times.  At  frequent  intervals  the  sheriff  came  and  said, 
"Well,  I  just  hate  to  do  it,  but  I  have  to."  And  after  I  had 
spent  a  few  days  in  the  village  hold-over,  the  judge  sent  me 
a  notice  that  on  a  certain  date  my  trial  would  come  up,  and 
we  would  talk  the  matter  over  and  see  who  is  right  or  wrong. 
Sometimes  I  had  to  wait  a  few  days,  and  again  seven  or  eight 
months;  but  regardless  of  the  number  of  days  I  had  on  the 
waiting  list,  I  could  always  look  out  through  the  bars  and  see 
where  the  spiders  had  woven  the  date  of  my  trial  on  the  dust- 
covered  walls  of  the  jail.  And  in  all  of  the  cases,  after  we 
had  talked  it  over,  the  jury  came  in  and  said,  "not  guilty." 
The  railroad  company  and  the  State's  attorney  were  always 
good  losers,  and  the  worst  they  ever  did  was  to  get  new  papers 
out  for  my  arrest  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  fair  enough  to 
also  grant  me  a  trial  on  the  coming  charges.  This  is  some- 
thing that  Mr.  Johnston  was  too  much  of  a  coward  to  do.  He 
feared  that  I  would  win  and  burden  him  and  his  "machine" 
with  another  shameful  defeat,  such  as  the  one  they  had  to 
carry  away  with  them  at  Kansas  City.  But  this  is  Mr. 
Johnston's  conception  of  labor  leadership. 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL     437 

After  the  Baltimore  Machinists'  convention  of  1916,  a 
protest  came  from  many  of  the  Machinists'  lodges  through- 
out the  country  in  which  they  demanded  that  I  be  given  a 
trial  in  accordance  with  the  Machinists'  constitution.  This 
protest  became  so  great  that  the  Machinists'  Executive  Board 
decided  to  take  the  matter  under  consideration  at  their  board 
meeting  which  adjourned  in  Washington  July  28,  1917. 

The  Board  members,  Preston,  Keppler  and  Hannon,  had 
expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  a  trial.  And  in  addition, 
Mr.  Hannon  stated  to  the  members  of  Lodge  No.  265  at 
Chicago  that  Board  Member  Ames  also  favored  a  trial  in  my 
case.  That  Ames  would  support  the  other  Board  members 
in  such  demand.  Board  Member  Hannon  made  a  motion 
before  the  Executive  Board  meeting  of  July,  1917,  that  the 
Association  grant  me  a  trial  in  compliance  with  their  consti- 
tution. The  motion  was  lost,  Hannon,  Keppler  and  Preston 
voting  for  a  trial,  and  Johnston,  Savage,  Nicholson  and 
Ames  voting  against  such  a  trial.  Mr.  Ames,  who  had  as- 
sured Hannon  that  he  would  vote  for  the  trial,  backed  down 
on  the  proposition  when  the  case  came  before  the  Board. 

Mr.  Ames  is  the  gentleman  who  opened  war  on  the  John- 
ston machine  and  wrote  the  famous  document  out  of  Indian- 
apolis, Ind.,  March  31,  1917.  But  in  July  of  the  same  year, 
only  four  months  later,  he  had  buried  the  hatchet  with  the 
Johnston  machine  and  voted  as  Johnston  directed  him  to  do. 
In  fact,  shortly  after  his  document  of  March,  1917,  he  signed 
and  approved  of  a  letter  which  the  Executive  Board  for- 
warded from  the  general  headquarters  in  Washington,  solicit- 
ing harmony  and  the  good  will  of  the  membership.  Nobody 
but  a  hypocrite  would  ask  for  harmony  if  the  statements  as 
outlined  in  his  Indianapolis  document  were  the  truth.  If  the 
Association  was  as  rotten  as  Ames  would  ask  us  to  believe  in 
this  document,  then  any  honest  man  would  ask  for  war  and 
war  to  the  end.  For  only  by  a  campaign  of  war  in  the  or- 
ganization could  it  be  regenerated  and  the  cancers  that  Ames 
speaks  of  eradicated. 


438  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

After  the  Board  meeting  in  July,  when  Ames  arrived  back 
in  the  West,  he  was  often  asked  what  action  the  Board  took 
in  regards  to  giving  Person  a  trial.  Ames  said  that  the  Board 
voted  it  down  three  to  four,  but  that  he  voted  in  favor  of 
the  trial.  He  made  this  statement  in  Bloomington,  111.,  while 
there  representing  the  Association  concerning  the  agreement 
between  the  Federation  and  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Railroad. 
He  placed  himself  on  record  at  the  Board  meeting,  and  when 
he  met  some  of  the  boys  in  the  West,  he  felt  ashamed  of 
himself  and  tried  to  lie  out  of  it. 

Ames  was  later  informed  that  his  record  in  Washington 
showed  he  did  not  vote  for  the  trial,  but  against  it.  He  tried 
to  justify  his  position  by  stating  that  he  was  in  favor  of  the 
trial,  but  if  he  had  voted  for  it,  Johnston  would  not  have 
to  vote  on  the  case;  therefore,  he  voted  against  the  trial  in 
order  to  place  Johnston  on  record.  This  justification  set 
up  by  Ames  is  humorous ;  just  as  if  Johnston  had  not  placed 
himself  on  record  regarding  my  case  before  by  suspending 
me  without  a  trial  and  at  the  Baltimore  convention. 

In  this  case,  were  I  forced  to  decide  who  the  gentleman 
was,  between  Ames  or  Johnston,  I  should  say  Johnston,  for  he 
has  at  least  the  courage  of  his  convictions  in  this  case,  and 
strong  enough  to  wrap  Ames  around  himself  and  use  him  as 
he  saw  fit.  Ames  did  not  even  have  the  courage  to  come  to 
Bloomington,  111.,  and  tell  the  truth.  Out  of  all  the  skates 
in  the  labor  movement,  the  Ames  type  is  the  most  disgusting 
and  dangerous. 

Mr.  Ames  represented  the  Machinists  during  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  strike  of  1908.  Here  he  was  charged 
by  the  railroad  company  of  moving  a  roundhouse  from  its 
foundation  over  night,  and  while  the  charge  was  pending  he 
spent  some  little  time  in  jail.  Mr.  Ames,  however,  received 
a  trial.  The  county  in  which  the  accident  took  place  went 
to  a  great  expense  to  see  that  Mr.  Ames  received  a  fair  trial 
on  the  complicity  charges.  And  in  this  trial  Ames  proved 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  jury  that  he  had  nothing  to  do 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    439 

with  the  moving  of  the  roundhouse,  so  the  jury  found  him 
not  guilty. 

Assuming  now  that  the  county  commissioners  and  the 
county  judge  would  have  said  that  Ames  was  guilty  of  the 
charges  preferred  against  him,  and  that  holding  of  a  trial 
would  simply  be  a  waste  of  money  and  time ;  that  the  cheapest 
way  to  dispose  of  the  Ames  case  was  to  find  him  guilty,  then 
what  would  have  Ames  said?  And  what  would  have  been  the 
opinion  of  the  labor  movement  in  general  ?  Well,  this  is  what 
Ames  did  in  my  application  for  a  trial,  with  Messrs.  Johnston, 
Savage  and  Nicholson.  Of  course,  no  judge  or  county  along 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  would  do  anything  as  in- 
consistent as  this.  This  dirty  work  is  left  to  the  labor  skates 
of  the  Ames-Johnston  type. 

The  jury  found  Ames  not  guilty  in  moving  roundhouses, 
and  of  course  they  could  not  bring  in  any  other  kind  of 
verdict.  People  like  Ames  do  not  move  anything  in  strikes. 
They  occasionally  drop  from  the  limited  trains,  look  up  the 
captain  of  the  pickets,  want  to  know  why  the  roundhouses 
are  not  moved,  and  why  the  bridge  that  spans  the  river  is  still 
carrying  the  trains  across.  When  they  are  told  that  they 
are  not  handcuffed  themselves,  they  give  you  the  same  answer 
as  they  do  when  they  are  asked  to  protest  against  some  decision 
from  the  general  headquarters — an  answer  something  like  this : 
"I,  of  course,  as  a  Grand  Lodge  officer,  cannot  do  that."  They 
hide  behind  their  title  like  a  cripple  in  a  wreck.  The  things 
that  are  moved  in  times  of  strikes  are  generally  moved  by 
the  soldiers  in  rags.  They  are  at  least  convicted  and  pay  the 
price. 

The  strikers  were  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Johnston's 
legal  decisions.  On  January  25,  1913,  Mr.  Johnston  and 
the  other  high  chiefs  issued  an  injunction  against  the  Strike 
Bulletin  that  was  published  and  owned  by  the  Federation,  the 
same  Federation  that  was  organized  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  in 
May,  1911.  A  notice  of  this  injunction  was  sent  to  every 
local  lodge  of  the  organizations  affiliated  with  the  Railroad 


440  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Department,  and  such  injunctions  were  issued  without  a  trial 
for  the  strikers ;  they  had  no  opportunity  to  make  a  defense 
of  any  kind;  they  were  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  injunc- 
tion was  to  be  issued  until  every  lodge  in  their  jurisdiction 
was  served  with  the  notice.  And  these  people  pretend  to  be 
labor  leaders,  and  protest  against  injunction  judges  of  the 
civil  government,  when  there  is  no  place  in  the  annals  of  any 
government  where  they  can  point  to  find  decisions  as  incon- 
sistent as  their  own. 

On  March  25,  1915,  Mr.  Johnston  and  his  associated 
chiefs  in  the  Railway  Department,  with  the  approval  of  Chief 
Justice  A.  O.  Wharton,  of  the  Railway  Department,  again 
issued  an  injunction  against  the  Strike  Bulletin,  owned,  con- 
trolled and  published  by  the  Federation — the  men  that  they 
instructed  to  go  on  strike — and  served  a  notice  of  such  injunc- 
tion upon  their  affiliated  lodges.  The  strikers  were  given  no 
chance  to  come  before  this  court,  that  it  could  be  decided  if 
the  injunction  was  justified;  the  men  on  strike  knew  nothing 
about  the  intentions  of  the  injunction  until  it  was  executed 
and  served.  And  when  these  labor  leaders  stand  on  the  by- 
ways making  their  campaign  speeches,  they  besmirch  the  char- 
acter of  ex-President  Taft,  and  point  to  him  as  the  father 
of  the  injunctions.  If,  however,  such  is  the  case,  they  are 
the  loyal  children  and  following  the  footsteps  of  their  ardent 
father.  In  the  performance  they  have  become  much  more 
efficient,  insofar  as  serving  injunctions,  than  Mr.  Taft  could 
have  wished  to  be  if  he  lived  several  centuries. 

On  March  25,  1915,  I  was  indicted  and  convicted  as  a 
forger  by  the  Railway  Department,  in  which  Mr.  A.  O. 
Wharton  sat  as  the  presiding  judge.  This  decision  was 
reached  and  I  stood  convicted  before  the  entire  labor  move- 
ment of  this  country,  without  the  slightest  notification  that 
there  were  any  charges  against  me  whatever.  I  knew  nothing 
about  it  until  every  lodge  affiliated  with  this  court  of  the 
Railway  Department  had  been  served  with  a  notification  of 
my  conviction.  No  court  in  any  civil  government  from  the 


EXCOMMUNICATED  WITHOUT  A  TRIAL    441 

Roman  Empire  to  the  present  date  in  democratic  U.  S.  A., 
has  ever  rendered  such  decisions  under  such  circumstances, 
and  I  challenge  anyone  from  the  pale-faced  philosopher  to 
the  most  learned  jurist  to  find  a  comparison  anywhere  in  the 
courts  of  the  civil  governments.  You  may  ask  the  whyfor 
of  all  this.  I  can  only  say,  it  was  because  I  stood  there  with 
my  comrades  paying  the  price  in  a  social  crisis  that  this  court 
alone  was  responsible  for,  and  because  I  refused  to  accept 
with  grace  their  smiles  when  I  was  asked  to  become  a  traitor 
to  my  fellows  and  play  the  game  in  accordance  with  the  estab- 
lished regulations  of  a  well-oiled  "machine."  Had  I  been 
willing  to  surrender  my  ideals  and  the  comradeship  of  those 
who  had  suffered  and  paid  the  price,  I,  too,  could  have  stood 
at  Kansas  City  in  a  frock  coat  at  the  expense  of  those  who 
were  deserted.  I  could  have  stood  there  nourished  by  the  tax- 
ation of  those  who  so  submissively  accept  the  decisions  from 
this  court  of  injustice. 

Why  should  I  expect  a  trial  from  Mr.  Johnston  and  his 
machine,  when  I  was  so  well  aware  of  the  decisions  he  had 
rendered  against  me  and  the  men  on  strike,  long  before  the 
trial  at  Kansas  City  took  place.  Well-meaning  individuals 
would  say,  "But  Mr.  Johnston  has  to  give  you  a  trial,  for 
the  constitution  specifies  that  such  is  the  law."  Then  I  could 
stand  there  and  laugh  to  my  "inner  self,"  because  they  did 
not  know  any  better  and  placed  so  much  dependability  on 
the  constitution,  when  the  constitution  is  only  for  Mr.  John- 
ston to  stand  on  when  the  crowd  gets  outside  of  the  fence. 
For  did  not  the  crowd  stand  by  during  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Harriman  Lines  strikes  and  say  nothing,  while  Mr.  Johnston 
and  his  "machine"  drove  outside  of  the  constitution,  tore  the 
very  foundation  from  under  it,  and  robbed  the  labor  move- 
ment of  everything  that  was  fundamental,  while  the  crowd 
stood  there  in  smiles  and  accepted  it  with  the  same  submis- 
siveism  that  the  serfs  in  the  landed  estates  of  Europe  accept 
the  decisions  of  the  wealthy  land-owning  lords. 

Some  of  the  courts  I  have  had  experience  with,  under  the 


442  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

cloak  of  organized  labor,  have  a  long  way  to  travel  as  yet 
before  they  even  reach  that  stage  of  fairness  that  is  dis- 
played in  the  court  rooms  of  the  civil  government. 

You  can  see  them  there,  all  getting  a  trial  before  his  honor 
the  judge,  and  a  jury  trial,  if  they  so  desire,  whether  it  is  the 
Fifth  Avenue  millionaire,  who  is  in  the  line-up  for  violation 
of  the  traffic  ordinance,  or  the  maiden  in  the  morals  court,  or 
the  drunks  and  the  smooth-fingered  artists  that  snatch  a  wid- 
ow's purse  on  the  avenue.  They  are  all  granted  the  same 
right,  whether  you  see  them  before  his  honor  at  the  criminal 
court  across  the  river,  or  down  from  the  shadows  of  Trafalgar 
Square,  back  of  the  stone-paved  streets  of  Petrograd,  or  in 
the  line-up  that  was  extracted  from  the  midnight  crowds  of 
old  Paris.  You  may  search  the  capitals  of  Europe  and  the 
cities  of  the  U.  S.  A.  from  Harlem  to  Frisco,  and  I  challenge 
anyone  to  find  such  exhibits  of  autocracy  as  I  found  and 
felt  the  effect  of  within  the  courts  of  the  so-called  progressive 
International  Association  of  Machinists  while  under  the  direc- 
tion of  its  chief  justice,  Wm.  H.  Johnston,  and  in  the  Rail- 
way Department  under  the  dictatorship  of  Chief  Justice  A.  O. 
Wharton. 


PART  VII 
CONCLUSIONS 

THE  POLICY  OF  FEDERATION  DEFENDED 

AT  THIS  part  of  our  records  there  is  only  one  possible 
indictment  that  you  can  serve  against  myself  and  the 
men  on  strike.  This  possible  indictment  could  be  served 
against  us  for  our  loyalty  to  the  principles  of  unity  of  action. 
Our  object  was  to  handle  the  strike  along  centralized  efforts, 
towards  a  centralized  direction.  If  the  idea  of  centralization 
of  action  in  the  handling  of  the  strike,  so  frequently  termed 
federation  in  this  story,  were  not  conducive  to  the  best  possible 
results,  then,  indeed,  I  have  committed  a  crime  against  the 
labor  movement  which  is  unforgivable.  As  we  have  now 
learned,  I  refused  to  compromise  with  movements  and  individ- 
uals on  the  principle  of  unification  in  the  handling  of  the 
strike,  and  all  matters  in  relation  thereto. 

During  the  strike  there  were  many  who  denounced  the 
principle  of  federation  and  unification.  Their  policy  was  to 
obtain  success  and  victory  by  adhering  to  the  law  of  classifi- 
cation and  individual  craft  efforts.  We  have  met  several  of 
such  characters  in  The  Lizard's  Trail.  What  position  they  are 
in  to  defend  themselves  and  the  line  of  action  they  supported 
during  the  strike,  that  concerns  me  but  very  little.  To  defend 
the  position  I  took  in  demanding  the  unification  of  all  move- 
ments implicated  in  the  strike,  that  I  have  given  my  best  efforts 
to  do  in  this  book.  It  will  strengthen  my  position  and  the 
men  on  strike  to  set  up  some  additional  evidence  in  defense 
of  the  principles  of  centralization,  unification,  federation  and 
co-operation.  If  it  shall  be  your  decision  that  I  was  the  irre- 
sponsible individual  in  the  case  by  demanding  unified  action, 

443 


444  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

then  there  are  a  few  other  irresponsibles  who  are  the  adher- 
ants  of  the  same  school  that  I  want  you  to  meet.  They  were 
not  associated  in  the  strikes  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harri- 
man  Lines,  but  they  are  engaged  in  defending  the  principles 
of  federation  and  unification  in  other  avenues  of  action. 

The  Chicago  Examiner  of  November  17,  1917,  page  1, 
makes  the  following  statement : 

U.  S.  DEMANDS  UNIFIED  WAR  PLAN 

ALLIES  ARE  WARNED  TO  UNITE  OR  STEP  ASIDE 
(By  H.  H.  Stansbury) 

Washington,  Nov.  16. — Every  development  here  today  indicated  that 
the  Paris  conference  must  reach  an  agreement  to  form  an  interallied 
war  council  with  supreme  powers  or  the  United  States,  through  its 
control  of  finances  and  supplies  will  take  over  the  direction  of  the  war. 

This  government  will  not  be  satisfied  with  an  agreement  which  does 
not  give  the  proposed  war  governing  body  authority  over  strategy,  war 
finance,  shipping  and  all  matters  pertaining  to  supplies. 

The  exclusive  purpose  of  the  Paris  conference,  which  will  begin 
deliberations  Monday,  is  to  determine  on  a  system  of  central  control 
for  making  war  more  effectively. 

PEACE   TALK  TABOO  AT  PARIS   CONFERENCE 

It  has  been  agreed  at  the  preliminary  meetings  between  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  interested  nations  that  no  peace  proposals  or  "war 
aims"  shall  be  discussed. 

Lord  Northcliffe's  statement  that  his  only  criticism  of  the  Lloyd 
George  administration  was  the  treatment  accorded  America  was  ex- 
plained by  the  authority  through  whom  the  foregoing  facts  became 
available. 

England  refused  to  heed  the  advice  of  Northcliffe  and  ratify  findings 
of  the  Paris  conference  held  in  the  latter  part  of  July.  This  meeting 
between  English,  French,  Italian  and  Russian  representatives  was 
called  to  bring  about  co-ordination  between  the  allied  government  in 
demanding  and  expending  money  available  only  in  the  United  States. 

BRITAIN    WANTS    TO    HOLD    WAR    PURSE    STRINGS 

The  substance  of  England's  refusal  was  that  to  relinquish  the  con- 
trol of  financial  matters  to  any  board  or  council  amounted  to  relin- 
quishment  of  the  most  essential  power  of  government. 

It  is  declared  here  that  the  United  States  saw  the  imperative  need 
of  an  interallied  war  council,  such  as  is  now  demanded  during  the  early 
part  of  the  summer. 

England,  France,  Italy  and  Russia  were  all  sending  missions  ask- 
ing for  money.  They  wanted  as  much  as  they  could  get.  It  is  said 
the  individual  demand  of  each  country  appeared  to  have  but  little,  if 
any,  regard  for  the  requirements  of  the  other. 

The  allies  at  that  time  were  represented  officially  by  Lord  Northcliffe, 


POLICY  OF  FEDERATION  DEFENDED       445 

England;  M.  Andre  Tardieu,   France;   Ambassador   Bakhmetieff,  and 
Ambassador  Di  Cellere,  for  Russia  and  Italy. 

RIVAL  WAR  MISSIONS   OUT  AS   COMPETITORS 

Each  foreign  mission  bore  down  on  Secretary  McAdoo  of  the  Treas- 
ury Department  with  all  of  their  powers  and  went  about  the  country 
creating  propaganda  in  favor  of  their  demands.  The  situation  created 
at  the  Treasury  Department  is  said  to  have  been  most  confusing  and 
conflicting. 

Secretary  McAdoo  sent  for  the  representatives  of  the  four  Euro- 
pean powers  and  requested  them  to  urge  their  respective  governments 
to  get  together  on  some  predigested,  co-related  plan  concerning  their 
needs.  Lord  Northcliffe  and  M.  Andre  Tardieu  strongly  favored  the 
suggestion  and  undertook  to  carry  it  out. 

The  answer  which  came  back  was  in  effect  that  a  joint  plan  of 
action  would  be  all  right  for  the  future,  but  that  the  immediate  demands 
must  be  met  or  great  sacrifices  would  be  the  consequence. 

TJ.    8.    PROTESTS    IGNORED 

On  July  19,  when  money  was  continuing  to  flow  to  Europe  in  an  un- 
controlled stream,  Secretary  McAdoo  wrote  a  letter  to  Northcliffe, 
Tardieu,  Bakhmetieff  and  Di  Cellere,  which  he  asked  be  transmitted 
to  their  governments.  The  substance  of  this  communication  was  that 
something  must  be  done  to  rectify  the  muddled  situation.  He  declared 
that  the  United  States  officials  were  being  forced  to  arbitrate  condi- 
tions and  a  situation  of  which  they  had  very  little  first-hand  knowledge. 

The  McAdoo  letter  contained  the  statement: 

"I  speak  with  the  authority  of  the  President." 

When  this  communication  reached  Europe,  supported  by  the  recom- 
mendations of  Northcliffe  and  Tardieu,  representatives  of  the  European 
allies  were  directed  to  meet  in  Paris  and  work  out  a  solution  of  the 
entire  problem  of  finance  and  supplies.  The  agreement  reached  at  the 
conference  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  United  States. 

But  it  never  became  effective.  The  announcement  made  at  the 
time  was  that  one  government  had  failed  to  ratify  it.  Additional  de- 
tails were  never  made  available  to  the  public.  The  subject  has  been 
held  in  abeyance  since  that  tune. — Chicago  Examiner,  November  17,  1917. 

The  foregoing  newspaper  article  is  interesting  for  many 
reasons,  for  it  places  the  United  States  Government  in  relation 
to  the  war  in  the  same  position  that  I  stood  in  during  the  strike. 
Secretary  McAdoo  informs  us  how  the  different  war  commis- 
sions came  with  their  propaganda  for  funds.  None  of  them 
were  concerned  any  further  than  to  get  all  they  could  for  them- 
selves. Let  us  now  reverse  our  attentions  back  to  President 
Johnston  and  the  rest  of  the  characters  in  the  lizard's  trail. 
We  find  that  there  is  a  large  resemblance  between  the  war  com- 
missions that  Secretary  McAdoo  is  speaking  of,  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers.  The  only  possible  difference  can  be  that  the 


446  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

war  commissions  were  Ignorant  of  the  motive  powers  that 
could  be  obtained  through  unification  of  efforts  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  officers  in  the  lizard's  trail  were  not. 

The  war  in  Europe  had  been  in  existence  for  three  years. 
During  this  time  the  Italians  were  not  concerned  about  any 
one  but  the  Italians ;  the  French  for  France ;  and  the  British  for 
Great  Britain,  and  while  this  international  drama  of  individ- 
uality and  selfishness  was  being  played,  their  lines  weakened 
to  the  extent  that  Von  Hindenburg  and  Von  Ludendorf  who 
were  strong  adherents  of  unification  and  centralization  crossed 
the  Italian  lines,  and  brought  their  armies  through  the  Alps 
in  on  the  Venetian  plains  and  told  their  soldiers  that  Venice 
was  theirs  for  the  taking. 

So,  too,  during  the  strike.  The  Machinists  were  only  con- 
cerned about  the  Machinists ;  the  Boilermakers  for  the  Boiler- 
makers ;  the  Carmen  for  the  Carmen ;  and  while  they  played 
this  selfish  drama  of  ruin  and  disaster,  Markham  and  Krutt- 
schnitt  weakened  their  lines  and  told  the  scabs  that  the  jobs 
of  the  union  men  that  had  left  them  were  theirs  for  the  taking. 

Federation  among  the  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  during  the 
strike  was  as  much  of  a  camouflage  as  the  term  allies  was 
between  the  French,  British,  and  Italians.  In  fact,  the  partici- 
pants in  the  war  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  the  term  allies 
until  President  Wilson  and  Secretary  McAdoo  told  them  that 
they  had  to  unite  in  the  interest  of  all  concerned. 

The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents,  too,  did  not  understand 
the  term  federation  during  the  strike,  and  when  I  called  their 
attention  to  the  apparent  danger  because  they  disrespected 
unified  effort,  they  refused  to  recognize  the  warning  and  there- 
fore the  men  on  strike  eventually  had  to  pay  the  inevitable  price 
of  defeat.  The  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  surrendered  their 
armies  to  the  enemies  in  May,  1915,  by  declaring  the  strike  off. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  Paris  speech  made  on 
November  12,  1917,  by  Premier  Lloyd  George,  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  printed  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  for  November  13, 
1917.  Let  us  therefore  hear  from  Lloyd  George: 


POLICY  OF  FEDERATION  DEFENDED       447 

As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that,  if 
nothing  was  changed,  I  could  no  longer  accept  the  responsibility  for  the 
direction  of  a  war  condemned  to  disaster  from  lack  of  unity.  Italy's 
misfortune  may  still  save  the  alliances,  because  without  it  I  do  not 
think  that  even  today  we  would  have  created  a  veritable  superior 
council. 

The  war  has  been  prolonged  by  particularism.  It  will  be  shortened 
by  solidarity.  If  the  effort  to  organize  our  united  action  becomes  a 
reality  I  have  no  doubt  as  to  the  issue  of  the  war.  The  weight  of  men 
and  material  and  of  moral  factors  in  every  sense  of  the  word  is  on 
our  side. 


The  Paris  speech  of  Premier  Lloyd  George,  of  which  the 
above  is  but  an  extract,  caused  world-wide  comment  and  was 
one  of  the  great  causes  that  led  to  the  organization  and  recog- 
nition of  a  federation  of  the  allies  in  the  handling  of  the  war. 
The  governments  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  the 
others  who  associate  as  the  allies  were  quick  to  recognize  the 
value  of  the  premier's  constructive  reasoning  and  at  once  sub- 
scribed to  the  principles  of  solidarity  and  unity  of  action. 

I  issued  my  declarations  and  demand  for  solidarity  and 
unity  of  action  in  the  war  of  the  slaves  that  was  fought  on  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  during  the  years  of  1911 
and  1915,  inclusive,  to  the  allied  International  Presidents  of 
the  organizations  involved  in  a  document  dated  January  25, 
1913,  and  printed  as  part  of  these  records.  The  war  of  the 
slaves  was  lost  because  of  the  failure  of  the  allied  Grand 
Lodge  Presidents  to  recognize  the  very  principles  that  could 
have  written  victory  at  the  end  of  that  strike,  namely,  the 
principles  of  solidarity  and  unity  of  action. 

Let  us  hear  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who 
is  credited  with  the  following  statement  in  the  Chicago 
Examiner,  November  19,  1917: 

UNITED    ACTION    OF    ALLIES    TO    WIN    WAR    URGED    BY    WILSON 

Washington,  Nov.  19.— The  administration  wants  the  war  against 
Germany  won,  regardless  of  methods  adopted.  This  was  the  explanation 
given  today  of  President  Wilson's  cablegram  sent  to  Colonel  E.  M. 
House  approving  the  plan  for  a  joint  control  and  unity  of  action  of 
the  fighting  forces. 


448  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

Here  we  find  President  Wilson  subscribed  to  the  principles 
of  federation  and  approved  of  a  policy  that  had  for  its  purpose 
the  elimination  of  individual  effort  in  so  far  as  the  handling 
of  the  great  war  was  concerned.  If  the  application  of  these 
principles  of  solidarity  were  conducive  in  bringing  about  the 
best  possible  results  as  far  as  the  war  was  concerned,  then 
would  not  the  same  be  conducive  in  the  handling  of  the  strike  ? 

The  Chicago  Tribune  for  December  16,  1917,  states: 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  15. — (Special) — A  war  council  within  the 
war  department  to  "oversee  and  co-ordinate"  all  matters  of  army  supply 
and  to  have  general  supervision  over  the  armies  in  the  field  was  created 
today. 

Here  we  find  that  the  Government  has  organized  a  feder- 
ated committee  through  which  the  Government  will  handle  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  war,  and  by  this  unified  system  be  able 
to  centralize  all  their  efforts  in  a  centralized  direction,  giving 
them  the  very  best  results  obtainable.  Here  in  1917,  then,  is 
the  great  countries  of  Europe  and  the  North  American  repub- 
lic setting  up  as  their  standard  the  principles  of  co-operation 
and  unification.  The  very  principles  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
Presidents  during  the  strike  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Har- 
riman  Lines  regarded  as  an  irresponsible  and  unbalanced  code 
of  economics.  The  very  system  of  collective  bargaining  that 
Julius  Kruttschnitt  of  the  Harriman  Lines  made  mention  of 
before  the  Industrial  Commission  as  a  movement  his  company 
had  made  up  their  mind  to  fight  at  any  cost. 

The  superior  results  obtained  through  unified  action  over 
classified  effort  became  recognized  by  President  Wilson  to 
such  large  extent  that  in  December,  1916,  he  issued  his  famous 
declaration  taking  over  all  railroads  by  the  Government,  and 
through  it  operate  them  as  a  unified  system  as  one  national 
railroad.  This  declaration  by  the  President  was  one  of  the 
large  events  in  history,  for  by  it  the  old  classified  system  of 
economics  that  such  characters  as  Johnston,  Wharton,  Ryan, 
Buckalew,  McCreery,  Grace  and  other  prominent  figures  in 
the  lizard's  trail  were  the  principals  of,  received  its  great  blow 


449 

of  destruction.  Here  President  Wilson  tore  the  very  founda- 
tion from  under  their  classified  church  and  sent  it  rolling  down 
the  mountain  sides  of  time  towards  its  final  resting  place  in 
oblivion. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  for  December  29,  1916,  gives  us 
the  following  information  as  to  the  Government  operation  of 
the  railroads: 

NEW  BOARD  BEGINS  WORK 

In  his  first  order  as  director  general,  Mr.  McAdoo  constituted  the 
members  of  the  war  board  a  temporary  operating  committee,  instructed 
to  continue  the  work  they  have  been  doing  in  co-ordinating  the  trans- 
portation lines  for  more  efficient  handling  of  war  traffic.  The  members 
of  this  temporary  operating  committee  are: 

Fairfax  Harrison,  chairman,  president  of  the  Southern  Railway. 

Julius  Kruttschnitt,  chairman  of  the  board  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 

Samuel  Rea,  president  of  the  Pennsylvania. 

Hale  Holden,  president  of  the  Burlington. 

Howard  Elliott,  of  the  New  Haven  System. 

The  foregoing  newspaper  extraction  is  of  interest  because 
we  find  that  Mr.  Julius  Kruttschnitt  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
has  become  connected  with  the  Government  operation  of  the 
railroads.  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  is  the  very  gentleman  who  denied 
the  employees  of  the  Harriman  Lines  the  right  to  federate 
and  operate  their  organizations  as  a  unified  system  in  1911. 
He  then  declared  that  the  policy  of  unification  was  not  an 
efficient  and  constructive  policy,  and  because  of  this  disagree- 
ment between  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  and  the  men  employed  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  (Harriman  Lines)  a  strike  developed.  Now, 
we  find  that  in  1917,  some  six  years  later,  even  Mr.  Krutt- 
schnitt has  become  a  convert  of  unification,  and  one  so  enthu- 
siastic that  the  Government  appointed  him  as  a  member  on 
the  committee  of  five  to  direct  the  Government's  policy  of  uni- 
fied operation  of  its  new  national  lines. 

What,  then,  was  responsible  for  the  great  changes  from 
classification  to  unification  in  Mr.  Kruttschnitt?  We  have 
read  a  letter  signed  by  all  Grand  Lodge  Presidents  under  date 
of  March  11,  1912,  in  which  we  are  informed  that  the  strike 


450  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

was  costing  Mr.  Markham  and  Kruttschnitt  seven  million  dol- 
lars per  month  ($7,000,000).  It  is  possible  that  this  seven 
million  dollars  a  month  expense  due  to  the  strike  learned  Mr. 
Kruttschnitt  to  appreciate  the  value  of  unified  action.  The 
strike  run  continually  forty-five  months,  then  if  under  the 
expense  of  seven  millions  per  month,  as  we  are  told  under  the 
signatures  of  Johnston,  Ryan  and  Franklin,  the  strike  cost 
Mr.  Kruttschnitt  and  Markham  three  hundred  and  fifteen  mil- 
lion dollars  ($315,000,000).  I  am  sure  that  you  will  agree  with 
me  that  if  this  amount  was  appropriated  by  the  railroads  to 
enable  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  to  determine  the  merits  and  demerits 
in  the  law  of  unification,  then,  indeed,  Mr.  Kruttschnitt  should 
be  an  efficient  and  capable  commissioner  for  the  Government 
in  directing  the  unified  operation  of  national  railroads. 

Now  that  I  have  added  to  the  records  such  prominent 
deciples  of  unification  as  the  governments  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  Italy  and  the  United  States,  with  the  documentary 
evidence  that  informs  us  that  Premier  Lloyd  George,  of  Great 
Britain,  Secretary  McAdoo,  of  the  treasury  and  general 
director  of  the  Government's  national  railways,  with  President 
Wilson  as  staunch  supporters,  then  I  have  given  the  necessary 
respectability  to  that  movement  that  the  men  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  fought  for  and  went  on  strike 
for.  No  indictment,  then,  can  be  served  against  us  for  defend- 
ing the  very  principles  that  the  Government  regards  as  a  good 
one,  and  one  that  we  have  proven  will  give  the  best  results 
obtainable. 

SUMMARY 

I  have  given  you  in  the  foregoing  a  few  of  the  develop- 
ments which  came  to  the  surface  between  the  men  on  strike 
and  their  Grand  Lodge  officers.  Enough  so  that  my  charges 
are  fully  substantiated  that  the  men  on  strike  were  double- 
crossed  and  deserted  by  the  very  officers  whose  duty  it  was  to 
assist  them  and  help  make  the  strike  a  success. 

We  have  learned  that  an  individual  organization  could  not 


SUMMARY  451 

secure  anything  during  the  year  of  1911,  and  in  many  cases 
they  were  refused  recognition.  It  therefore  became  necessary 
to  organize  as  a  federation  and  seek  legislation  from  the  rail- 
roads through  the  law  of  unified  action.  It  is  then  important 
to  be  remindful  of  the  fact  that  had  not  the  men  on  the  Illinois 
Central  and  Harriman  Lines  struck  in  1911  they,  or  the  men 
on  some  other  road,  would  have  had  to  strike  some  time  later  or 
surrender  the  conditions  secured  through  years  of  organized 
effort. 

We  know  that  the  International  Organizations  approved 
of  the  strike.  That  through  the  leadership  and  advice  of  the 
International  presidents  the  strike  took  place.  Shortly  after 
it  was  called  the  Briggs  House  meeting  in  Chicago  took  place 
when  President  Ryan  and  others  who  had  done  so  much  to 
bring  about  the  strike  had  changed  their  opinions  and  stood 
ready  to  desert  those  who  they  commanded  to  strike. 

At  the  time  of  the  Kansas  City  Convention  of  1912  and 
during  the  time  of  the  general  strike  vote,  a  large  aggrega- 
tion of  strike  breakers  from  the  official  families  came  out  in 
the  open  and  fought  the  efforts  of  the  men  on  the  general 
strike  vote. 

We  saw  the  shadows  of  the  two  personalities  of  Jack  Buck- 
alew.  When  he  was  on  the  line  and  declared  that  the  Machinist 
Grand  Lodge  confiscated  the  funds  of  the  strikers.  How  he 
changed  when  his  official  position  was  threatened  by  Johnston 
and  how  he  later  approved  of  the  confiscation  methods.  Our 
case  against  Jack  as  a  traitor  to  the  cause  is  complete. 

The  break  at  Water  Valley  was  a  well-laid  plan  to  disrupt 
the  federated  movement  for  the  price  of  a  machinist  contract, 
and  it  met  with  approval  from  some  of  the  official  families. 

President  Johnston's  proposition  to  give  the  men  on 
strike  25  per  cent  of  the  spoils  out  of  the  money  confiscated 
from  them,  reads  like  the  story  of  the  bandit  who  robbed  the 
old  cripple  woman  of  her  last  dollar,  then  offered  to  give  her 
five  cents  for  streetcar  fare.  She,  too,  refused  to  accept  it. 

While  Conlon  and  Johnston  were  playing  the  dance  of 


452  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

death  for  Machinist  District  No.  21,  we  were  successful  in 
getting  it  back  into  action.  For  this  service  to  the  men  on 
strike  I  was  suspended.  Any  one  who  dared  to  do  something 
in  the  interest  of  the  strike  was  struck  with  the  battering  ram 
from  Washington. 

Of  all  the  characters  in  the  Lizard's  Trail,  President  Mc- 
Creery, of  the  Federation,  was  the  most  pitiable.  Persuaded 
by  the  machinists  to  desert  the  Federation  because  the  Federa- 
tion insisted  on  a  square  deal  for  the  members  of  the  carmen's 
organization.  The  very  organization  which  McCreery  held 
membership  in.  To  me  he  was  a  Judas,  and  to  the  men  on 
strike  a  Benedict  Arnold. 

When  the  International  presidents  were  solicited  to  give 
the  men  on  strike  their  co-operation  in  January,  1913,  they 
did  not  give  the  correspondence  from  the  Federation  as  much 
consideration  as  the  railroad  companies  did.  The  railroads 
answered  all  communications  sent  them  by  the  Federation  offi- 
cials, even  though  they  did  not  recognize  the  Federation. 
That  was  more  than  the  Grand  Lodge  presidents  did. 

The  Chicago  frame-up  for  300  jobs  on  the  Illinois  Central, 
with  no  consideration  for  the  men  on  the  Harriman  Lines, 
stands  out  as  the  most  treasonable  conspiracy  that  was  ever 
attempted  to  be  executed  any  place.  How  well  we  remember 
who  the  promoters  were. 

In  serving  the  injunction  against  the  Strike  Bulletin  in 
1913  President  Johnston  and  Buckalew  made  an  earnest  effort 
to  precipitate  the  Federation  in  the  graveyard  of  the  lost 
cause. 

Wharton  and  Scott  came  to  the  front  and  threatened  to 
declare  war  on  President  Johnston  and  the  Machinist  Grand 
Lodge.  They,  like  their  predecessors,  Buckalew  and  McCreery, 
ran  away  from  the  movement  to  assist  those  who  had  taken  the 
contract  to  wreck  it. 

President  Johnston  established  his  record  in  relation  to 
the  Federation  in  his  letter  to  Secretary  Moore  of  the  Machin- 
ist Dictrict  21.  That  he  was  against  the  Federation  was  as 


SUMMARY  453 

conspicuous  as  the  green  grass  in  the  springtime.  His  attitude 
towards  the  Federation  was  as  poisonous  as  the  bite  of  the 
mountain  rattler  to  its  victim. 

We  met  Omaha  Sam.  This  helpless,  selfish  individual.  He 
did  not  realize  that  the  machinists  were  the  aristocrats  of  labor 
until  after  the  strike,  and  when  he  woke  up  to  this  conclusion 
he  refused  to  associate  himself  with  the  other  trades.  It  is  a 
consolation  to  know  that  the  Sam  Grace  type  will  be  granted 
no  special  privileges  from  Mother  Nature.  When  they  are 
dead,  with  some  few  years  to  back  it,  no  one  will  know  that 
they  were  the  aristocratic  slaves,  and  but  few  will  care. 

Let  us  remember  that  the  few  men  on  strike  and  their 
friends  overpowered  all  of  the  accumulated  forces  of  the  Grand 
Lodges  during  their  drive  of  November,  1914,  in  which  they 
tried  to  have  the  strike  voted  off  through  the  referendum. 

The  Augusta  resolution  give  us  all  the  information  we 
care  to  have  to  convict  President  Johnston  as  a  dangerous 
enemy  to  free  speech  and  free  press.  There  is  no  place  in  the 
long  drive  from  the  period  of  the  Dark  Ages  to  modern  times 
where  any  one  has  come  to  the  front  as  a  greater  enemy  to 
free  speech  and  press  than  President  Johnston  did  in  regards 
to  the  Augusta  resolution. 

The  strike  that  the  men  involved  voted  to  continue,  with- 
out strike  benefits,  was  called  off  by  the  International  officers. 
If  the  men  were  contented  to  continue  the  strike  without  bene- 
fits they  should  have  been  allowed  to  do  so.  By  referendum 
they  voted  to  strike  and  by  referendum  they  voted  to  continue 
the  strike.  In  the  face  of  this  the  strike  was  declared  off  at  the 
very  time  when  the  ammunition  factories  were  begging  for 
mechanics  and  willing  to  pay  the  best  of  wages ;  on  the  very 
eve  of  this  country  being  involved  in  the  war,  with  thousands 
of  men  leaving  the  country  for  Europe ;  declared  off  when  the 
strike  was  about  won  and  the  men  stood  ready  to  celebrate  the 
victory  of  the  greatest  strike  in  the  history  of  the  labor  move- 
ment. 

Grand  Lodge  officers  made  a  joke  of  the  entire  labor  move- 


454  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

ment  during  their  autumn  drive.  The  scabs  who  had  helped  the 
railroad  company  to  defeat  the  men  on  strike  were  solicited 
to  become  Union  men  for  the  price  of  a  dollar  and  a  half. 

President  Kline  was  scheduled  for  excommunication  along 
with  the  blacksmiths'  organization,  because  he  would  not  be- 
come a  party  to  their  nefarious  operations.  The  stage  was 
well  set  to  throw  him  and  the  blacksmiths  out  of  the  labor 
movement.  But  again  the  strike  breakers  were  disappointed. 
President  Kline  fully  substantiated  his  charges  that  the  strik- 
ers were  double-crossed  and  deserted  by  their  own  Grand  Lodge 
officers,  and  that  the  money  was  there  for  those  who  wanted 
to  take  it. 

I  was  scheduled  to  be  driven  out  of  the  labor  movement 
with  President  Kline.  Arrangements  were  made  for  this  as 
far  back  as  1912,  when  I  refused  to  go  along  and  help  to 
chloroform  the  federated  movement  for  a  machinist  contract. 
With  every  development  that  took  place  between  the  Federa- 
tion and  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  during  the  strike,  new  de- 
termination on  their  part  was  added  to  make  my  expulsion  a 
success  when  the  proper  time  arrived. 

I  went  to  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  as  a  witness  for  Jim  Kline,  to 
help  him  prove  that  the  men  on  strike  were  drowned  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  officers  like  the  sailor  drowns  his  cats.  They 
looked  over  my  record  and  found  that  when  I  was  threatened 
with  suspension  and  expulsion  they  were  told  to  get  them 
ready  as  soon  as  possible.  Buckalew  was  told  to  go  to  Hell. 
McCreery  was  put  on  the  shelf.  Johnston  told  to  keep  all  of 
the  money  confiscated  from  the  strikers  rather  than  to  accept 
the  25  per  cent.  Wharton  could  not  induce  me  to  silence  the 
Strike  Bulletin  when  the  strike  was  scheduled  to  be  called  off. 
All  this  remained  as  an  old  sore  in  them.  Then  to  help  Jim 
Kline  show  how  we  were  double-crossed,  that  was  the  climax 
of  it  all.  In  doing  this  my  record,  in  their  estimation,  became 
so  disgraceful  that  I  did  not  merit  a  trial  any  more  than  the 
Strike  Bulletin  and  the  men  on  strike  merited  a  trial  when 
injunctions  were  issued  against  them  during  the  strike. 


SUMMARY  455 

Then  came  the  Baltimore  convention  of  the  machinists,  re- 
questing an  apology  for  what  I  had  done  during  the  strike; 
asking  this  without  first  giving  me  a  trial  to  determine  if  dur- 
ing the  strike  I  did  anything  that  could  be  considered  wrong. 
Or  if  I  said  anything  at  Jim  Kline's  trial  that  were  not  facts. 

So  many  facts  were  brought  to  the  surface  during  Jim 
Kline's  trial  that  they  were  afraid  to  print  the  minutes  of  the 
hearing  and  give  it  to  the  membership.  That  is  the  best  evi- 
dence that  the  facts  were  against  them.  Had  Jim  Kline  and 
the  blacksmiths  been  expelled,  and  I  unable  to  prove  my  asser- 
tions you  may  feel  assured  that  the  minutes  of  the  trial  would 
have  been  printed  and  sent  to  every  local  in  the  country.  Busi- 
ness Agent  Carr,  of  the  Rock  Island,  would  then  conclude 
that  the  rank  and  file  had  more  than  enough  sense  to  under- 
stand them. 

To  the  delegates  of  the  Baltimore  convention  who  went 
on  record  as  asking  me  to  apologize,  knowing  as  they  did  that 
I  had  not  had  a  trial  as  outlined  in  the  constitution.  They  can 
go  to  what  Sherman  said  war  was.  I  have  never  begged  them 
for  a  trial  and  never  will.  This  I  am  entitled  to  without  any 
solicitation  on  my  part.  If  the  labor  movement  wants  to  sit 
idly  by  and  see  me  robbed  of  my  rights,  they  also  have  my 
permission  to  do  so.  I  know  that  I  did  not  sit  idly  by  when  the 
labor  movement  was  in  jeopardy  and  threatened  by  the  strike 
breakers  inside  or  outside  of  the  labor  movement.  This  story 
will  support  the  statement  that  I  fought  the  strike  breakers  in 
the  labor  movement  when  they  were  robbing  it  of  its  very  vital- 
ity. And  the  court  records  will  show  that  I  did  not  sit  idly  by 
when  the  strike  breakers  from  the  bull  pens  placed  the  labor 
movement  in  jeopardy  or  intruded  upon  its  rights. 

The  machinist  convention  which  in  1911  called  the  strike 
and  decided  under  the  atmospheric  curtains  of  oratory  that  it 
was  necessary  to  strike  to  preserve  the  association,  came  to 
Baltimore  in  1916  and  asked  me  to  apologize  for  abiding  by 
their  instructions  in  1911.  For  not  running  away  from  the 
strike  like  thousand  of  others  did.  Indeed  those  who  did  not 


456  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

abide  by  their  instructions  in  1911,  but  scabbed,  were  rein- 
stated for  a  dollar  and  a  half  with  no  apology  requested. 

If  the  machinists'  organization  is  so  saturated  with  the 
Johnston-Wharton  type  of  politicians  that  they  were  able  to 
render  a  decision  of  this  nature  from  the  Baltimore  convention 
and  pull  off  the  job  they  did  in  calling  the  strike  off  when  it 
was  about  won,  then  it  is  an  honor  to  be  a  suspended  member, 
and  as  I  wrote  Pete  Conlon  during  my  suspension  as  secretary 
of  District  21,  that  "I  shall  always  refer  with  pride  to  its 
captivity." 

It  was  said  that  the  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harri- 
man  Lines  made  a  mistake  by  going  on  strike  in  1911.  Those 
who  have  said  it  have  nothing  to  support  their  statements 
with.  This  strike  was  as  necessary  to  the  labor  movement  as 
the  rain  storms  are  to  the  wheat  fields  and  the  sunshine  to  the 
flowers.  It  was  as  unavoidable  as  the  spring  floods  and  the 
autumn  winds.  It  was  as  certain  to  come  sooner  or  later  as 
death  itself.  Then  what  difference  did  it  make  whether  it 
took  place  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Harriman  Lines, 
or  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  or  some  other 
railroad  ? 

The  same  school  of  maudlin  fools  ridiculed  the  craft  unions 
when  they  had  their  first  strikes.  Those  of  them  who  had  their 
strikes  and  fought  for  their  existence  grew  up  and  lived  to  a 
ripe  old  age.  The  unions  who  were  too  refined  to  strike  have 
passed  out  of  existence  a  long  time  ago.  Mother  Nature  made 
no  important  accommodations  for  those  who  would  not  strug- 
gle for  existence.  A  labor  movement  that  will  not  strike  to 
maintain  its  position  is  like  a  country  which  will  not  fight  to 
maintain  its  boundary  lines.  They  must  pass  out  of  existence, 
for  such  is  the  law. 

The  trade  union  movement  did  not  grow  up  and  take  its 
important  place  in  organized  society  because  of  the  justice  of 
its  cause.  It  did  not  develop  its  strength  through  inactivity, 
but  through  its  frequent  strikes.  The  respectability  of  any 
movement  is  measured  by  what  it  can  register  on  the  balance 


SUMMARY  457 

scales  of  strength.  Every  strike,  large  or  small,  won  or  lost, 
has  forced  those  who  are  the  enemies  of  labor  to  add  another 
merit  mark  to  its  record,  and  by  this  method  through  the  long 
struggle  of  the  ages  has  developed  its  strength. 

So,  too,  the  federated  movement  had  to  fight  for  its  place, 
and  after  securing  it,  must  fight  to  maintain  it.  Any  move- 
ment that  will  not  do  so  will  occupy  no  place  of  importance. 
The  eagle  did  not  develop  its  spurs  by  leaving  its  nest  when 
it  was  in  danger,  or  the  lion  its  strength  by  deserting  its  cubs. 

The  year  of  1911  was  the  transition  period  of  the  railroad 
shop  crafts.  The  decaying  individual  crafts  give  birth  to 
the  federated  movement.  He  who  said  that  it  was  a  mistake  to 
demand  for  it  a  square  deal  was  as  dangerous  as  the  doctor 
who  allowed  the  new-born  child  to  die  for  the  want  of  the  proper 
care.  If  the  time  ever  comes  that  labor  unions  shall  determine 
it  a  mistake  to  fight  for  its  rights,  it  has  played  its  last  act  in 
the  burlesque  of  decay.  Like  the  old  Roman  empire,  it  must 
pass  out  of  existence  and  make  room  for  the  things  in  life,  and 
matter  that  will  struggle  and  fight  for  its  rights. 

There  was  no  mistake  made  by  going  on  strike,  or  the 
strike  taking  place,  for  out  of  this  strike  the  federated  move- 
ment blossomed  into  importance  all  over  this  country.  Fed- 
erated agreements  were  secured  on  railroad  after  railroad  dur- 
ing the  time  that  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines 
strike  was  in  progress.  These  federated  agreements  were  not 
secured  because  the  managements  of  the  other  roads  liked  the 
federated  movement  any  more  than  the  managements  of  the 
Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines.  They  were  secured  be- 
cause the  men  on  strike  put  up  a  fight  for  its  principles  that 
commanded  respect. 

When  federated  committees  stepped  into  the  general  offices 
requesting  a  conference,  this  was  granted  them,  and  granted 
them  because  of  the  fact  that  it  had  cost  C.  H.  Markham  and 
Julius  Kruttschnitt  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  rail- 
roads seven  million  dollars  per  month  to  refuse  their  federated 
committees  a  conference.  Let  it  be  fully  understood  that  the 


458  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

federated  committees  on  the  other  roads  were  granted  their 
conference  for  this  reason  and  this  reason  only. 

If  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  strike  had  not 
taken  place,  federated  committees  on  other  roads  would  have 
been  told  to  go  back  to  the  woods,  "that  they  baked  down  on 
the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines  in  1911  and  have 
come  again  to  put  up  the  same  kind  of  a  bluff.  How  they 
surrendered  on  the  Santa  Fe  and  the  L.  &  N."  The  entire 
record  of  defeat  that  sleeps  in  the  yesterdays  of  the  railroad 
shop  crafts  would  be  thrown  at  them,  with  the  same  ultimatum 
which  the  superintendent  of  motive  power  on  the  Chicago  and 
Eastern  Illinois  made  his  federated  committee,  which  was: 
"Take  your  proposed  agreements  home  and  frame  them." 

Had  the  men  on  strike  surrendered  and  given  up  the  fight 
for  federation  when  the  labor  lizards  drove  in  on  them  to 
accomplish  their  purpose,  the  general  manager  on  the  other 
roads  would  have  said  to  these  federated  committees  when  they 
came  and  asked  for  a  conference : 

"We  licked  you  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines  in  a  few  months  and  can  do  the  same  on  this  road.  You 
cried  in  despair  for  your  stalls  and  will  do  the  same  here.  You 
have  neither  determination  or  a  fixed  position.  You  do  not 
realize  that  if  you  want  anything  better  than  what  you  are 
now  getting  you  must  first  show  that  you  are  entitled  to  it, 
and  this  you  failed  to  do  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines.  If  you  want  to  try  it  again  on  this  road  go  ahead. 
We  have  money  and  men  to  fight  you  with,  and  you  have  noth- 
ing but  a  mob  who  will  neither  fight  or  support  a  fight." 

After  this  ultimatum  the  federated  committees  could  either 
go  home  and  surrender  the  federated  idea  of  organization  or 
go  on  strike. 

Thanks  to  the  men  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman 
Lines.  They  put  up  the  fight  for  the  federated  movement,  and 
while  it  is  true  that  managers  on  other  roads  can  say  that  "We 
licked  you  on  the  Illinois  Central  and  Harriman  Lines,"  they 
know  that  this  pleasure  cost  them  seven  million  dollars  a  month, 


SUMMARY  459 

three  hundred  and  fifteen  million  dollars  for  the  forty-five 
months  of  the  strike. 

Failure  to  win  the  strike  can  indirectly  be  charged  to  the 
membership  of  the  organizations  involved.  They  elected  the 
men  to  office  who  deliberately  prearranged  defeat  and  disaster 
to  the  federated  movement.  So,  if  it  must  be  said  that  mis- 
takes were  made,  they  were  made  by  those  who  by  their  consent 
placed  the  social  criminals  in  office  and  gave  them  the  oppor- 
tunity to  panhandle  the  movement. 

If  the  fight  we  put  up  for  Federation  is  worth  anything  to 
those  whose  fortune  or  misfortune  it  shall  be  to  stand  guard 
over  its  principles,  in  the  long  drive  on  the  tomorrows,  do  not 
permit  the  lizards  outside  or  inside  of  the  labor  movement  to 
rob  it  of  the  things  that  we  fought  to  give  it. 

If  we  can  now  agree  that  the  strike  was  instrumental  in 
building  up  the  federated  movement,  a  large  part  of  this 
credit  can  be  attributed  to  the  labor  men  who  supported  the 
federation,  morally  and  financially.  Without  the  moral  and 
financial  support  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  make  the 
strike  as  effective  as  it  was  made. 

Many  labor  organizations  helped  to  finance  the  strike  on 
its  inception.  Voted  to  support  it  with  assessments  and  dona- 
tions as  long  as  it  would  continue,  just  as  thousands  of  men 
voted  to  strike  and  to  stay  on  strike  as  long  as  it  would  con- 
tinue. Many  such  labor  organizations  as  well  as  strikers  disap- 
pointed the  movement.  They  were  enthusiastic  for  the  strike 
in  the  beginning,  but  when  it  was  not  won  at  the  time  they  had 
predicted  they  deserted  the  federation  and  its  principles. 

The  organizations  worth  while  were  the  organizations  who 
supported  the  strike  and  supported  it  to  the  end.  Just  as  the 
strikers  who  were  worth  while  were  those  who  supported  and 
backed  it  to  the  end. 

I  would  feel  ungrateful  indeed  should  I  fail  to  mention  the 
Machinist  Lodges  at  Danville,  111.,  Silvis,  111.,  and  Cedar  Rap- 
ids, Iowa.  They  supported  the  federated  movement  and  sup- 
ported it  continually  up  to  and  including  the  month  when  the 


460  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

strike  was  declared  off.  With  all  of  the  Grand  Lodge  emissar- 
ies on  the  road  to  keep  money  from  the  federation  these  lodges 
stood  the  test.  They  supported  the  federated  movement,  and 
this  support  was  instrumental  in  keeping  it  alive,  and  assisted 
in  putting  up  the  fights  we  did  against  the  crooks  in  the  labor 
movement. 

The  strike  represented  the  accumulated  assistance  of  the 
men  from  the  picket  lines,  to  those  who  helped  finance  it 
Every  terminal  point  in  the  struck  zone  played  its  important 
and  necessary  parts,  if  they  were  carrying  on  the  strike  in 
compliance  with  the  federated  idea  of  unified  action.  So,  too, 
every  lodge  in  the  country  who  contributed  financially  to  the 
Federation  was  assisting  in  keeping  the  strike  alive  in  its  long 
run  of  forty-five  continual  months. 

The  federated  movement  will  always  be  indebted  to  John 
Robertson,  of  Oakland,  Cal.,  who  served  the  Harriman  Lines 
Federation  as  Secretary  with  credit  to  himself  and  the  boys 
in  the  West.  With  Robertson  were  Stephen  Taylor  and  Ed 
Merrill  at  Portland,  Ore.,  who  defended  the  cause  of  federa- 
tion during  its  long  and  stormy  career.  When  the  evolution 
of  things  have  completed  the  materialization  of  the  dreamer's 
vision  and  the  thinker's  ideals  it  can  be  said  that  Robertson, 
Taylor  and  Merrill  contributed  more  than  their  share. 

Space  does  not  permit  to  mention  the  names  of  those  who 
stood  back  of  the  federated  movement  and  supported  it  mor- 
ally and  financially,  for  they  represent  a  small  army  of  sincere 
and  militant  workers.  No  one  will  feel  slighted  if  I  mention 
Edwin  Methe  and  his  friends  at  Danville,  111.,  for  I  know  best 
the  large  support  we  received  from  them  and  how  important 
their  large  and  continual  support  was  to  the  success  of  the 
movement.  Had  it  been  possible  to  secure  the  same  support 
from  a  dozen  other  places  in  the  country  we  would  have 
moved  the  skates  who  were  disrupting  the  federated  movement 
much  faster  than  it  took  us  to  move  McCreery  and  Buckalew. 

The  federated  movement  can  never  repay  James  J. 
Meagher,  L.  M.  Hawver  and  Lewis  Nicholson  for  the  service 


SUMMARY  461 

they  rendered  it.  Through  all  the  stormy  days  from  the  incep- 
tion of  the  strike  until  its  end,  these  men  stood  at  the  throttle 
of  action  and  defended  the  Federation  and  its  principles.  Had 
it  not  been  because  of  their  contribution  to  the  cause  it  can 
well  be  said  that  the  lizards  would  have  bankrupted  the  fed- 
erated movement  shortly  after  the  inception  of  the  strike.  I 
am  personally  indebted  to  Meagher,  Hawver,  and  Nicholson 
for  their  loyalty  to  myself  and  the  cause  of  federation.  Dur- 
ing my  frequent  trips  to  jail  and  court  proceedings  they  were 
always  there  with  their  comradeship  of  assistance. 

I  am  indebted  to  Attorney  Frank  Comerford,  of  Chicago, 
for  his  service  to  the  men  who  were  on  strike  and  myself. 
Comerford's  loyalty  to  the  cause  was  responsible  for  the 
United  States  investigation  of  the  strike,  and  his  loyalty  to 
me  kept  the  Illinois  Central  and  Dewitt  county  politicians 
from  hanging  me  in  the  morning's  misty  dawn.  This  was  a 
sad  disappointment  to  many  people,  both  outside  and  inside 
of  the  labor  movement,  to  some  of  those  who  this  book  will 
be  a  disappointment  to. 

I  have  now  given  you  a  story  which  represents  the  most 
infamous  frame-up  that  ever  scandalized  the  labor  movement, 
and  the  spirit  of  this  autocracy  still  prevails.  Individuals  and 
lodges  who  dare  to  cross  with  the  machine  that  holds  the 
machinists'  organization  in  its  death  grip  are  suspended.  A 
thousand  blows  struck  at  labor  by  its  enemies ;  a  million  injus- 
tices heaped  on  it  by  its  foes,  only  stimulates  the  movement  on 
its  onward  drive  towards  freedom.  But  one  injury,  one  injus- 
tice done  to  labor  by  labor  itself  is  deadly.  It  makes  the 
precedent  that  justifies  a  whole  train  of  wrongs  and  will  in 
time,  if  allowed  to  continue,  corrupt  the  entire  movement. 

To  the  men  who  were  on  strike,  and  stood  the  test  of  time 
and  endurance,  I  want  to  say :  I  served  you  as  good  as  I  knew 
how.  I  did  not  compromise  the  federated  movement.  I  gave 
you  the  best  that  was  in  me.  I  gave  you  my  money  and  my 
time.  I  laid  in  jail  and  sat  in  the  shadows  of  the  gallows.  I 
was  on  trial  for  my  life  in  the  civil  courts  and  with  the  angry 


462  THE  LIZARD'S  TRAIL 

mob.  I  did  not  surrender  anything  that  was  the  property  of 
you  or  me  at  either  place.  They  stood  ready  to  do  their  worst, 
and  so  did  I.  In  both  cases  I  won.  I  have  made  my  mis- 
takes— the  mistakes  I  would  willingly  make  over  again  for  the 
results  obtained;  the  mistakes  that  are  necessary  to  accom- 
plish anything;  the  mistakes  that  are  made  everywhere  by 
everybody.  Even  as  you  make  them  at  intervals  in  your 
efforts  for  yourself  or  others.  Back  of  them  are  nothing  but 
an  honest  effort  towards  accomplishment. 

Here  is  to  you  my  assurance  that  I  will  never  apologize  to 
Johnston,  or  his  aggregation  of  politicians  that  made  up  the 
Baltimore  convention,  or  any  other  crowd  or  individuals,  with- 
out first  securing  the  trial  inscribed  in  my  constitutional  rights. 
And  this  the  creeping  cowards  are  afraid  to  grant  me,  for  fear 
the  labor  movement  would  request  them  to  stand  trial  for  trea- 
son to  the  cause  of  the  toiling  masses. 

I  do  not  complain  because  of  my  own  experience.  I  am 
nothing.  But  my  experience  brings  to  light  the  menace  that 
confronts  us  all  and  makes  the  labor  movement  weak  and 
meaningless.  Even  Johnston,  Wharton,  Ryan,  Buckalew,  or 
McCreery  are  not  important  enough  to  warrant  attention, 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  these  men  by  and  through  their 
positions  of  leadership  have  made  a  mockery  of  the  labor 
movement.  Judas  was  only  important  as  symbolizing  the 
frailty  of  man,  as  Benedict  Arnold  is  only  important  as  an 
illustration  of  the  depravity  of  the  traitor.  So  these  men 
without  vision, — without  conscience,  and  without  sincerity, 
have  bankrupted  the  choicest  hopes  and  ideals  of  the  move- 
ment and  brought  despair  and  tragedy  to  the  suffering  Sol- 
idarity of  Democracy. 

THE  END 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


